Horton Hears a Who: Harmony
by Reva Ewdrow
Summary: Why is Lindsay Doyle, the most popular who in his grade, taking a sudden interest in Jojo? life after the horton incident. Previously called "Jojo." Im open to suggestions and criticism, so if you liked it, or if you didnt, let me know! :D
1. The Calm Before the Storm

Jojo closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the window pane. He could feel the soft drops of rain as they pattered against the other side of the glass - their rhythmic beat soothing the throbbing headache that pounded its own rhythm against his skull. He opened his eyes and glared irritably at his reflection. Why would it rain tonight? Tonight, the last night of summer, the last calm before the hellish storm that descended every September tenth. He already knew how it would happen. He'd be wrenched from his sleep by the excited shrieks and twitters of his 96 sisters as they scampered about, desperately searching for that matching sock or misplaced notebook that always seemed to go missing, no matter how much preparation went into preventing it the night before. He'd struggle through the chaos like he always did and hopefully manage to get a turn in the one bathroom that they all shared before being carried out the door by a sea of pigtails and braids. The very thought of it amplified the throbbing in his head.

With a sigh he pushed away from the window, the wheels of his chair squeaking as it sailed across the room to his desk. He tried to push the foreboding thoughts of the day to come from his head by searching through the papers that littered his desk for a pencil. He had _planned_ to spend his last night in the old observatory, but seeing as his umbrella was currently serving a vital role in his latest creation, he had no way of reaching it without being completely soaked by the rain. He had attempted to borrow one of his sisters', but his effort had been foiled by what his father liked to call "Preemptive Organization." Just thinking about it sent his eyes into an exasperated roll. Sometimes his dad was just so _odd._

Though the relationship between him and his dad had improved after the events of last summer, recent happenings had again brought it under strain. His father had come to accept his choice of not taking his place as mayor, but the town council had not been as taken with the plan. Apparently Jojo had disrupted years of Who tradition in even suggesting such an atrocity, and as the excitement of Jojo's valiant role in the saving of Whoville slowly settled into the dust, the news of his rejection of who-ways was beginning to rise. He had begun avoiding his father out of pure shame. What kind of Who was he anyways? Any other Who his age would probably love to be mayor. Not that he would know, seeing as he didn't talk to any Whos his age, or any age for that matter, unless you counted his sisters. He didn't.

His long fingers finally wrapped around a pencil that lay hidden behind a leg of his desk. Straightening up and taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to settle the thoughts bouncing around in his head. They got so loud sometimes he couldn't hear anything around him, and right now, that was exactly thing that he wanted to do.

The chorus of raindrops that still fell against his window floated into his ears, their soft whispers setting the backdrop for the methodic ticking of his bedside clock. His foot began to tap to the beat, seemingly of its own accord, and with a small sigh, he opened his eyes and began to scribble rapidly on a sheaf of paper that lay in front of him, loosing touch with everything but the music.


	2. The First Day

**A/N: thank you so much for everyone who reviewed, i appreciate it! this chapter is slightly longer (i took your advice, novelist742, and set a goal :) ), and i hope you enjoy it! let me know what you think.**

**ps: does whoville have birds? i decided to include some, but i couldnt actually remember seeing any flying around...**

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Jojo's soft breaths gently fluttered the paper that lay next to his face. One arm rested on the desk next to his head, while the other hung at his side, his hand still loosely holding a pencil in its relaxed grip. He wrinkled brow slightly as muffled yells mixed with the sharp chirp of birds met his ears. Sunlight seeped through the window and slowly flowed across his face, pushing lightly on his closed eyelids. He raised his hanging arm to cover his face and let out a soft grunt.

_What time was it? _His mind moved sluggishly as it wrestled with the dreams that still entangled it. _A few more minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt anyone…._

He wriggled in his chair, trying to gain a more comfortable position, but this only succeeded in pushing the chair beneath him in the opposite direction, sending him crashing to the ground, a few papers floating lazily after him. He stood up with a start, shaking the drowsiness from his head.

_What time was it??_

Rushing about, he grabbed his bag and stuffed some pencils and a notebook into it. Running his fingers through his messy hair, he pulled open his door and walked strait into his father, who was attempting to tie a pair of pantyhose around his neck instead of the usual mayoral crest.

"Oh hey there Jojo! Missed you at breakfast this morning! But I figured you were up late last night… what with all the organizing that had to be done! Haha! Guess what! Big meeting today with the town council to discuss the amendment of Article 4378902 of the Whostitution, that's the one where old mayor Gragerfoo Who tried to make his dog mayor….."

Ned continued chattering about the article as he walked down the hall and turned the corner, unaware that his son was not following. Jojo pushed his dark hair out of his eyes. His father had been so distracted lately, and deep down Jojo knew it was his fault. He had been relentlessly arguing his son's case to Whocourt in an attempt to tweak the existing laws so that Jojo could be free from his mayoral obligations.

Jojo looked guiltily up at the grand faces that lined the Hall of the Greats. They stared scornfully back at him, almost as if they, too, knew what stress he was inflicting upon his father, and didn't approve in the slightest. Hunching his shoulders against their dissatisfaction, he sulked down the hall towards the kitchen, his mood darkening by the second.

--

"Sweetie, you're wearing pantyhose around your neck."

Several girls giggled as Sally pulled them off her husband and fastened a tie in their place. Jojo and a few stragglers were sitting at the breakfast table, trying to fit in a few more bites of egg before they had to leave, while their father said his goodbyes.

"Now, Hailey, Holly, you two be careful on the way to school, and don't wander off, I don't want a repeat of last year's incident. Cassie, Kelly, hold your sisters' hands when you cross the street, and MAKE SURE Darley and Daphne make it to the kinderwho area before you go off to your classes! Does everyone have their bags? What about their umbrellas? Its still a little wet outside so be sure not to slip--"

"They'll be _fine,_ Ned. I've got this under control; you just head off to work before you're late." Sally kissed him on the cheek and gently pushed him in the direction of the door.

"Oh--OK then ill just be going. Have a good day at school girls! You too J-dawg! Keep it real!" Several girls yelled an uncoordinated reply and Jojo merely nodded his head, choosing to ignore the new nickname for the time being. He stood up from the table and turned to go.

"Jojo, wait, did you forget about your sisters? Halley and Hooley are going with you today! It's their first day in highschool! I want you to show them around since you're familiar with the place." His sisters stood excitedly before him, their towering hair making them seem even taller than their older brother than they actually were. He looked at them for a minute then shrugged and continued out the door, the twins skipping enthusiastically after him. He heard is mom shout one last goodbye and he waved without looking back before stepping out the door.

"What's highschool like Jojo? Is it scary?"

"How big are the lockers? Are the bathrooms nice?"

"Which are the best teachers? Where do you eat lunch?"

"Is there really a WhoCola machine in the cafeteria?"

They continued interrupting each other with questions, leaving no room for a reply. They knew their brother wasn't likely to give out answers, but that didn't stop them. They kept it up all the way until they reached the block the school was on, and only then did they cease their incessant inquisition (much to Jojo's relief) and instead proceed to fidget nervously as they followed their older brother towards the big building.

They entered through the front doors and Jojo pointed in the direction of a hall.

"Lockers."

Jojo turned and pointed in the opposite direction. The two girls turned their heads to follow his finger, their gaze resting on a door that had blue sign on it depicting a who wearing triangular skirt.

"Bathroom," he muttered. Turning around, he was about to cut short the tour and go off to find his locker when he caught sight of their faces. They looked terrified--their eyes were wide and they seemed to be overwhelmed with the vastness of the highschool. He sighed. He really didn't remember the middle school being THAT much smaller than this. Taking a deep breath, he waved his hand in front of their faces to get their attention.

"Look, it may seem scary, but it's really not all that bad. Most of the teachers are nice and I'm sure you two will make friends before the day is out. And besides, if you get lost, you can always come find me. OK?"

Whether it was Jojo's words, or the simple fact that he had actually graced them with speech, it obviously seemed to have an effect on the girls. They smiled and nodded at him, before heading off together in the direction of a group of their friends that were huddled next to a drinking fountain, looking slightly more confident and even chattering a little. Jojo shook his head. He wasn't sure how much help he'd be if they _did_ decide to come to him, seeing as he didn't exactly fit in himself, but at least they seemed to be more comfortable now. He turned and began walking in the direction of a table where two frazzled whos were attempting to pass out schedules, silently hoping to himself that they would find a way to fit in better than he had.


	3. Enduring

Ok, so this chapter kind of sucks becuase i finally got chapter 3 done and my cat decides to unplug my computer before i save the thing, not to mention the titles lame... grrr

i retyped it super fast from memory, so its not the best thing in the world, but its ok i think...

also, i may change the name of the story, but if i do ill put it in the summary

anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter!

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Jojo hesitated in the doorway of room 502, wondering to himself if he had misread his schedule. Glancing back at the turquoise paper in his hand, he scanned it for the column that contained the room numbers.

**McDodd, Jojo**

**Grade: 10**

**Student ID: 072392036**

**Period Class Teacher Rm**

1 Whostery Ganchery 502

2 Whoology Corbiculus 213

3 Literature Raken 117

4 Geometry Huefloo 312

Lunch

5 Study Hall Flitherby 102

6 Music Hapenshire 420

His eyes immediately fell upon the last row, sixth period: music. A small smile played briefly across his face before being replaced just as quickly with the usual indifferent expression. Music was a class not offered to freshmen, so now that he was qualified to take it, it was quickly becoming the one thing that he was enduring towards. He usually found school an awkward and unpleasant experience; since he didn't speak, it was popular belief among his teachers that he was below average intelligence, and so he was placed in all the lowest level classes. It so happened, however, that Jojo was probably one of the brightest whos in his class, so it was easy to understand that he found having to spend his time crawling through slow-paced lessons something that bored him beyond durability. This, and the fact that he didn't have any friends to talk to during lunch and in between classes, made school a very undesirable affair. But a class dedicated to music? Even he might be able to enjoy that.

Pulling himself out of thoughts of 6th period, he returned to the task at hand: locating his Whostery room. He took a step back and tilted his head up to see the brass numbers fastened above the doorway: 502. This was the right room… so why was it dark? Glancing one last time up to the shiny numbers, he gave a shrug and stepped into the seemingly deserted room.

He chose a chair in a far corner and slumped into it, drumming his fingers on the desk in a pleasant beat. If worse came to worse, he'd just have a period all to himself. He could finish up the outlines for that new invention that he had started last night, and maybe even start on that one thing that he had been thinking about ma--

His musings were interrupted by a sudden surge of people coming in through the door. Three girls came in, giggling and chattering animatedly, followed by two boys, who sauntered into the room as if it was filled with people waiting for them to enter. One of the girls, who seemed to be leading the pack, looked around expectantly.

"Um, where _is_ everybody? Its so dark! Dave, turn on the lights."

"You turn on the lights. I'm not one of your _servants, _Lindsay," he retorted and his companion gave him an approving nod and laughed. Lindsay rolled her eyes and looked around the room again, this time catching Jojo in her electric blue gaze.

"What are we supposed to be doing here," she demanded of him, "where's the teacher?"

Jojo shrugged. Her bright pink hair was pulled into a ponytail that teetered dangerously at the top of her head. She wore multiple bracelets around her wrists that jangled every time she moved, and Jojo noted a strong floral sent emanating off her. It made his nose itch.

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Jojo shrugged again. How was he supposed to know? He sniffed as the perfume continued to tickle his nose. One of the boys moved to stand next to the girl.

"What, don't you talk?" Jojo just glared at him. He recognized that one, he was the captain of some sports team at the school, but he couldn't remember which.

"Heeeey, I know who he is," the other boy piped in, "he's the mayors son, the small one that never talks."

"Oh yaa, I know that guy. The one who was supposed to have saved us right? Last summer." Lindsay's attention, which had been drawn to her Whofone once the conversation had excluded her, was pulled back to Jojo and raised her head and looked at him.

"That was _you_? Seriously?"

Jojo just kept glaring. More people had begun to filter into the room, some of them taking random seats and others standing around and watching the conversation unfold. He hated when the subject of last summer came up. He didn't like attention, especially when it was from large groups of people, which unfortunately was exactly the demographic that had been attracted by his feat. Most of the whos his age had only heard of him, and continued with their lives without even glancing at him as they passed, but the more attentive, older whos were the ones to point him out on the street or give him a pat on the back as they passed, never failing to mortify him and cause his father to swell with pride. Not that he didn't want his father to be proud of him, that was the one thing he probably wanted most when it came to his dad, it was just that he wished he could have it without having the whole rest of the town starring at him as he passed.

The kids around him had begun to mutter and whisper amongst themselves, and he had a pretty good idea what it was about. He slouched lower into his seat, as if that would hide him, and prayed that something would save him before things got any worse. Lindsay had begun to move towards him, her expression reminding him of his sister's when they had looked at a spider that he trapped under a glass for them. Her perfume was becoming unbearably strong in his nose, and it finally got the to point where he couldn't take any more. He sneezed.

"Gesundhiet."

Lindsay jumped and turned around, along with every other kid in the room, to look at the source of the sudden noise. There, at the front of the class, stood a quirky looking who with white hair spiraling wildly from his head. He had thin, wire glasses perched on his nose, and a crooked smile spread easily across his face.

"Well, are you all going to stand there all period or shall we get started?" The few whos who were still standing shuffled quickly to an empty seat while the rest of the class looked expectantly at the teacher. He looked right back. The students began to squirm in their seats as the awkward silence grew longer and the strange who continued to look keenly at them, as if they where the ones who should be speaking.

"Now what?" Lindsay finally blurted out, staring at him with an impatient expression.

"Now what what?"

"Now…what are we supposed to do?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Lindsay looked incredulously at him, then turned to look at the rest of the class as if looking for someone to back her up. When she received nothing but confused looks from them, she turned back to face the teacher.

"Um, why don't you tell us who you are? I mean, you _are _the teacher, right?"

"Indeed I am. I am Mr. Ganchery, and I am your Whostery teacher. Whostery, my friends, is not just a class, but a vital aspect of our lives, for if we are unaware of our past, our Whostery, then how can we be expected to know who we are as whos today?" With that he turned and strode across the room towards the door. Jojo expected him to simply keep walking straight through and leave them sitting there, but he stopped when he reached the light switch and turned to face them.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, before you came here, you were living in the dark. You entered here today ignorant of your Whostery. A who who knows not of his past, cannot be expected to make educated decisions concerning his future. When you leave here, my friends, you will be prepared for whatever you come to face in life. You will be ENLIGHTENED." With that he flicked the switch, filling the room with light and extracting groans from the students as their eyes were dazzled by the sudden change in lighting. Just then, the bell rang, and Mr. Ganchery opened the door, now wearing a full grin.

"That's all for now. Have a good day."

--

None of the rest of Jojo's classes were as strange as the first. In Whoology, Mr. Corbiculus, a young who with a cheery disposition, had given them a whole chapter of reading on the anatomy of a butterfly, which Jojo did not intend to do. He had gone through literature in a daze, absently staring at Ms. Raken's dramatic gestures as she spoke about the great writers of their time, while daydreaming of a way to imitate the sound of rain falling on a window. Geometry had been mildly interesting, he had already used a few of the formulas in some of his more recent inventions, and the angles and curves drawn on the board had given him an idea about an addition to the Symphonophone. He had spent his lunch in a deserted hallway, sketching out the plans for it. By 5th period, he was ready to begin building, but instead he was forced to sit in the unbearable silence of his study hall. Mrs. Flitherby, an uptight woman with a beehive hairdo and a voice that sounded like a dying hawk, screeched at anyone who made the smallest noise. Even the innocent tapping of Jojo's pencil against his desk had brought down a hail of shushing that caused a few of he whos in his class to snicker and his face to burn red. He did _not_ want to be subject to that again. He sat in his chair and looked over the blueprints he had drawn in his notebook, checking and rechecking for mistakes in the structure that he knew weren't there. The seconds seemed to inch by at an unnaturally slow pace, and just when he was going to explode from lack of sound, the bell rang out, releasing them from the silence. Jojo was the first out the door. He couldn't help but feel a the flutter of anticipation in his stomach as he began the long trek from room 103 to room 420. It was time for sixth period, music class.


	4. Judgment

Hi guys! sorry it takes so long in between chapters, but i have AP tests like every day this week, not to mention i have about six billion projects all due in the very near future, so i haven't really had a lot of leisure time... (IB kills life)

anyways, introduced another character in this chapter...

I'm not completely happy with it (then again i never am :) ) but here it is none the less

reviews are always appreciated (thanks to all u have already done it...its very motivating!)

**enjoy!**

* * *

Jojo ran his furry finger around the rim of one of the many instruments that lined the walls of the room. In one corner, drums were stacked in tilting towers and brass horns sent spots of fractured light across the cream walls from their hooks and stands. An array of harp-like instruments were lined up under the opposing window, their strings humming slightly as the breeze from an electric fan brushed past them. Where a teacher's desk normally sat, there was what looked like a piano with a plethora of different sized keys protruding from its face like crooked teeth and messy stacks of sheet music on its darkly-varnished surface. The black board was peppered with musical notes, lazily resting on the bars of their compositions.

He couldn't keep the smile off his face-- the last time he had been around so many instruments that weren't of his own creation, he had been five. His father had decided to bring him to a function at the Who Orchestra Pavilion, to which he was obligated to go as mayor. He had thought it would be good to expose the little mayor-to-be to some of the fun aspects of his future job early on, but he had no clue as to the magnitude of the impact it would have on his son. It was one of Jojo's earliest memories, and he could still hear the resounding bangs and trills of the ensemble in his ears as they reached a crescendo…it had been his inspiration for the Symphonophone. He had rushed to his room that day and began drawing the first crude sketches of the future device in waxy crayon and colored pencil. He probably still had them somewhere, buried beneath the piles of blueprints in his room no doubt.

Being the first one in the room, he put aside his usual shy inhibitions and began to explore. With the air of someone reverently approaching a holy treasure, he slowly began to make his way around, plucking strings and pressing keys, his ears delighting in their unique and echoing sounds. He came to row of guitars, each varying in size and shape. He carefully picked one up off its stand and began to strum a tune, tapping his foot along with the beat and even humming every so often in harmony with the tones. He began to loose touch with is surroundings, the gentle singing of the guitar mixed with his own voice enveloping him. It was then that he heard door creak.

Stopping mid-note, he turned sharply, his smile fading quickly into the blush that spread across his face. A who girl with violet fur stood in the doorway, her eyebrows raised in uncertain amusement. She looked like she wanted to laugh, but was afraid to, and after a moment she compromised by flashing him an awkward smile.

"Er, I hope in not…_interrupting _anything... I'm just looking for…is this the music room?" Jojo nodded, gently setting down the guitar before turning back to face her, his face still burning.

"Oh, good. Ill just…sit, then…" Her words trailed off as she slid into a seat across the room, her grey eyes purposefully avoiding him. He shuffled to the seat nearest to him and sank into it, desperately trying to erase the redness from his face. He pulled out a notebook from his bag and began to flip through it as though he was looking for something, in a weak attempt at casualness. She occupied herself by scrutinizing the carved graffiti of her desk as if it were the most interesting thing she had yet to come across.

After an awkward moment had passed, she attempted to break the silence.

"Brie," she offered. "My name, its Brie, by the way."

_Like the cheese. _He thought.

"Jojo." She'd have to do more than that to get him talking, she obviously wasn't familiar with his mute disposition. He stole a quick glanced at her. She was biting her lip and looking up to the ceiling as if it would hold an escape. No such luck.

"Nice name," she tried again.

_Pause. _

"So…do you, um, do that a lot? The guitar…thing?" _The guitar thing? And she choose music as he elective? _He just shrugged.

She let out an exasperated breath. _This one's bright, _she thought to herself, _and a real people person too. _She decided to give up on him and pulled out her binder. If he was going to be anti-social, fine with her. She had an 500-word essay already assigned to her and she wasn't about to waste her time trying strike up a conversation with a stubborn who who didn't want to speak.

Jojo watched her as she began to scribble rapidly on a piece of paper. Evidently, she had given up her attempts to communicate. The door creaked again and this time a pack of whos entered, lead by none other than Lindsay, the pink who from his first period. He subconsciously wrinkled his nose in remembrance.

"Bree-eee! Thank god we finally have a class together! I was starting to think that we wouldn't _ever _see each other." Brie flashed her a relieved smiled.

"I saw you at lunch today." Lindsay brushed away the comment.

"Well _that_ doesn't count. You see everyone at lunch." She sat down in the seat next to her, her bracelets jingling with each movement. Her entourage had already begun to claim their own seats, and a clatter filled the room as book bags were dropped and books were slammed onto desks.

"So," Lindsay rested her chin in her hand and looked at Brie with a comically amiable expression, "why is it that we have like NO classes together this year? Its _so_ horrible!"

"I know… it's because of the classes I'm taking. I decided to…challenge myself this year. I'm taking advanced." Lindsay wrinkled her nose, and for a moment Jojo thought it was because she had finally caught a whiff of her own perfume, but then he realized it was a response to Brie's explanation.

"Ew, why would you do that? Don't you have like, a _ton _of work in those classes? We'll still be able to hang out right?" Brie opened her mouth to give her reply, then paused, as if thinking better of it.

"Of course we will," she finally said.

"Good." Lindsay flashed her a smile and spun in her seat, beginning a conversation with the boy sitting next to her. Brie was left with an almost troubled look on her face, and she was biting her lip again. Jojo watched her from across the room, mildly interested in what had just unfolded. He wouldn't think that she would be friends with someone like Lindsay. She wasn't decked out in jewelry, for one thing, and she didn't reek of daffodils. _But who knows, _he thought to himself, _You cant always judge people by how they look. _Or smell.

Just then Brie lifted her eyes and met Jojo's gaze. He blushed again, realizing that he had been caught eavesdropping on her conversation…and probably what looked like staring her down. She looked surprised at first, but then she seemed to regain control and flashed him a fierce glare that clearly said "mind your own business." He quickly looked away, thinking to himself _yep…they're not so different after all._

_--_

Jojo clipped another rag to the clothes line.

It was 10:37 and he was in the observatory, adding the final touches to his latest addition to its many gadgets. He took a few steps back and observed it from a distance, giving one more visual check before its first test. He walked over to the small generator that he had picked up from the spare parts behind the whomobileshop and flipped its switch. After a moment its gears began to whir with a satisfying hum and the fishing line that Jojo had hooked up to it began to move. The device consisted of a zigzag of fishing line over a large plexiglass table. Rags had been clipped to the line like clothes hung out to dry, and after being dragged through a bucket of water by the wire, they were allowed to drip-dry over the large table, the chorus of their combined drops resulting in an effect that sounded--

_Just like rain. _Jojo smiled at his creation. It had taken him all of 3rd and 4th period as well as lunch to design, and he had spent the majority of his time after school looking for the necessary parts. He had already had the generator sitting in his workspace for some time now (he had come across it months ago and knew it would come in handy), but the rags, fishing wire, and clips had been among the few things he didn't have lying around. He had also needed some sort of pulley system that could be attached to the generator, in addition to the large pane of glass the his blueprints had called for. He had found the line and pulleys in the hardware store in town, and his laundry room had supplies the rags and clips. As for the glass, he had to make do with the plastic material that had been disposed of in a dumpster next to a construction site. He had screwed it to a wooden frame and put legs on it, creating a table of sorts.

He let out a yawn and began to pick up the loose screws and other scraps off the floor. He would have to connect the generator to the wall switch next time, it was getting late and he had to suffer through school again tomorrow. At least he had music to look forward to now. In spite if its embarrassing beginning, it had been an overall good period. They had spent the entire first class learning about all the instruments and their inner workings, and even though this bored most of the students to the point of sleep, Jojo found it fascinating, and hung off Ms. Hapenshire's every word, which was something he couldn't ever recall doing.

As for that Brie girl, he figured he deserved the glare he had gotten, and would probably had done the same if she had been eavesdropping on him (a very unlikely occurrence since he rarely spoke, but none the less…). Perhaps it was just the good mood the observatory put him in, but he had decided he would give her another chance before making a decision about her.

_After all_, _you can't always judge people by how they look._

Switching off the generator and the light, he left the old observatory and began the long trek home.


	5. Metronome, Interrupted

wait, not one, but _two_chapters, posted within a week of each other? I know, it's insane, the world must be coming to an end.

i was sick so i decided to make myself feel better by writing another chapter. I actually like this chapter, I'm not sure why, but i hope you do too.

the reviews are always appreciated!

enjoy

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Like the steady beat of a metronome, Jojo's life had fallen into a regular routine. Each morning he would walk with his sisters to school, his silence never deterring their rapid descriptions of this who or that movie or whatever happened to be swirling in their minds at the time. When they reached the steps, they would wave to their brother before going off to join their group of friends, leaving Jojo to wander to his locker alone. He would sit through his classes, never really paying attention to what they were learning (with the exception of music, for which he seemed to show a passion that none of his teachers had even thought him capable of) and then walk home to grab a snack before heading off to the observatory. He had been living steadily to its beat for a week now-- home, school, observatory, home, school, observatory-- so when the beat was thrown off, he was in no way prepared for it.

Friday morning had started out as regular as any other day-- he had been last in line for the bathroom (as usual), so had been late to breakfast (as usual) and so had been the last to leave (as usual), causing his sisters to whine at him to hurry up, they were going to be late (even though they never were). The metronome ticked on.

The walk to school had not been altered, Halley had given him an in-depth report on exactly how many whos Jessica McPherson had invited to her party, and exactly what she was going to wear, and exactly how fantastic it was going to be, with Hooley interrupting periodically to insert any all-too-important details that her sister had forgot to mention. Jojo had just walked along in silence, providing the occasional nod when necessary. Tick. Tick.

It was when they got to school that the beat was interrupted. He had just raised his hand in response to his sisters' goodbyes and was about to go up the steps of the main entrance when Lindsay Doyle, the most popular girl in his grade, called his name. He didn't register it at first, it was so unexpected, and just continued walking, but when he heard his name a second time, he stopped and looked uncertainly around.

"Jooo-jooo, over here!" She was calling him over to her group? It was as if she reached out and stopped the pendulum in its tracks. He suddenly felt a little unsure in the absence of its rhythmic tick.

"Come _on_, Jojo. We don't _bite_." Scattered giggles resounded around her as several of her posse responded to her joke. The group consisted of about five whos, all of them girls. He recognized the purple hue of one who's hair, Brie, but other than that he couldn't place any of them. He slowly made his way over to the group, painfully aware that they were all at least half an inch taller than him. He looked at Lindsay warily, waiting for her to tell him whatever it was that they wanted.

"So, what's up?" She began, as if it were an everyday thing that he come talk to them. Jojo shrugged, his uneasiness growing. _What do they want?_

"Oh that's cool. How _boring_was whostery yesterday? Mr. Ganchery is soooo weird." He just stared at her. Is this why they called him over? To chat about whostery? _They cant seriously expect me to believe this, _he thought.

"You really don't talk, do you?" Her voice had an impatient tone to it now. He just shrugged again.

"No he doesn't," Brie casually put in, "I think he prefers to _listen_." Jojo blushed slightly at the eavesdropping reference, scowling at her as she smiled coolly back. Lindsay looked bemusedly at the two, eyebrow raised questioningly at the mutual understanding that excluded her. She hated being excluded. With a small chuckle, she intervened.

"Aaaaannnyyyways, I'm sure your wondering why we called you over here, Jojo." He tore his gaze from Brie's and looked at Lindsay, eager to find out what they wanted as soon as possible so that he could leave. This wasn't what he called an enjoyable conversation.

"Well, I-- _we_-- were wondering, if you were doing anything this Saturday?" He shook his head and shrugged.

"No? Great! Then we'd _totally_ love it if you came to my party! Its at my house--the big blue and yellow one on Grand Ave--at 8. You can come right?" He looked at their faces. Lindsay's held an expectant expression, which the other girls mirrored perfectly. All, with the exception of Brie, who looked as if she didn't care either way. After a moment, he nodded uncertainly.

"Awesome! See you there." She grinned at him and walked away, the other three girls that he didn't know scurrying to catch up. Brie smirked at him, before following, leaving Jojo standing alone, confused and a little uneasy about what had just happened. The sharp trill of the bell seemed to clear his head slightly, and he turned and began to walk towards room 502, his mind whirring rapidly around one unreal and almost unimaginable fact…..he had plans this weekend.

--

Brie closed her eyes, as Ms. Hapenshire had just directed, and listened to the symphony unfolding. Her ears were filled with the deep sighs of trombones melding with violin's harsh cries. Flutes quavered in the shadows of thundering drums-- it made her think of leaves being tossed about in a stormy winds. She opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. Ms. Hapenshire stood at the front of the room, leaning against the piano that acted as her desk. Her face was composed into a look of pure joy. The rest of the class, all with their eyes shut, held less passionate expressions. Lindsay was nodding her head in time with a beat that didn't match the symphony's, and closer inspection revealed that she was wearing headphones, her whoPod feeding some pop song into her ears. Dave, the who next to her, appeared to be asleep. Brie's gaze scanned the rest of the room. All the other whos seemed to have similar expressions of indifference or boredom… all except one. Jojo leaned back in his chair, his face relaxed, looking completely content. She could tell that he was listening to the music, because his fingers tapped lightly on the table in time with the symphony's beat. _He must actually like music,_ she thought.

It was common knowledge that music was a class that required little to no work, so it was naturally attractive to the less enthusiastic whos. Brie knew that Lindsay fell into that category, and a majority of the other whos had simply signed up because she had. As for herself, she took it because it would look good alongside the advanced courses on her college applications, but she didn't mind music either.

She had automatically put Jojo into the first category, only because she knew from Lindsay that he was in all of her classes, which weren't the most difficult. Yet there was the small who, actually _enjoying _himself_._ Who would have thought.

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes again. The music was reaching a crescendo, drums crashed and horns shouted, flutes trilled and violins screeched. Brie's mind wandered back to Jojo.

She really had nothing against the quiet who, he had simply got on her bad side. He had caught her in a moment of weakness, and for that he had received less than friendly results. Still, he didn't seem all that bad, in fact he seemed kind of nice. She had seen him walk his sisters to school everyday, only to get left once they reached the school. She had also seen that he had no friends. According to Lindsay, he sat alone in all his classes, and she couldn't recall ever seeing him at lunch. He had seemed so surprised this morning after being invited to the party, she almost felt bad for him.

The symphony came to a close and the class opened their eyes. Ms. Hapenshire gave a sigh and then switched off the tape player.

"Your homework this weekend is to right a short essay on the composer's use of tone to convey meaning in that piece. 500 word minimum." The class let forth a groan that rivaled the symphony's crescendo.

"This is music class," Lindsay complained, "we're not supposed to have homework!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Doyle, but you will have to make do. The essays are due Monday." With that the bell rang and the class shuffled from the room, Brie at its head. That was the third essay assigned to her this weekend, and if she wanted to go to Lindsay's party, she had to get them done before tomorrow.

It was going to be a long night.


	6. The Party

**Ok, so I've actually had this finished for like two days now, but fanfiction wasn't letting me submit anything for some reason...ah well, its here now :)**

**AND its actually long!! like twice what i normally write!! (well, long for me... probably normal length for everyone else)**

**i hope you enjoy it, and as always your input is appreciated (even if its criticism...)**

**yay :D**

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The seat was way to large for him. He craned his neck backwards, eyes straining to see the top of the chair's back, but it faded into the infinite distance, the blood red armrests rising after it like prison walls on either side of him. He bent forward to look over the edge of the chair, where his legs dangled over a swirling mist. It was like looking out over the edge of the decaying steps of his observatory. He was struck with the sudden dizzying feeling that he would loose his balance and fall forward; clutching the edge of the seat tighter, he sat up quickly, eyes shut tight.

"Jojo, are you alright?" The familiar voice sent relief washing over him like a wave. Opening his eyes, he turned to look at his father, standing near the back of the chair.

"Dad!" He stood and ran towards him, throwing his arms around the tall who's middle in a tight embrace. He suddenly felt very young. He smiled as his father's arms encircled him, their warmth blocking out the cold winds that had chilled him to the bone. He had forgotten the comfort of these arms, the safety they held. His father would help him, this he was sure of.

But something was wrong. The arms felt too heavy, their grip too tight…the warmth was leaving and he suddenly felt afraid again. His father was no longer there, instead a large wooden stake protruded from the seat cushion and rose between his arms. He tried to pull away, but his fathers arms had turned into heavy chains, holding him in place. The wind picked up, its harsh whisper scratching at his ears.

_You thought you could get out? You thought you could just leave? Who do you think you are?_

"No!" He struggled against his bondages, but the more he moved the tighter they became.

_No one ever gets away. You're nothing special. You're nothing._

The chains where much to tight…to tight…

_You can never get away. Never. Never._

He couldn't breath. The chains were crushing his lungs, and the air he managed to inhale tore at his throat like claws.

_It's always here. Waiting. _

There was no air. No more air. He was fading into the mist…..Fading into the wind….

_You cant get away._

"NO!"

His own shout startled him out of sleep, it's unfamiliar twinge of fear still ringing in his ears. He struggled with the blankets that held him like a straitjacket, his heart beating fast in his chest. When he had finally freed himself, he lay back down on his bed, taking deep, refreshing breaths of cool air. _What was that dream? _He had awoken in this way before, the dream was a weekly occurrence for him now, but try as he might, he could never remember it when he awoke. Even now, the memory of it was slipping through his grasp. He could recall the swirling mist beneath his feet, the warmth of someone's arms, the feeling of cold fear running through him… but the more he tried to remember the details, the hazier they became. It was like grasping at smoke, just when you had it curling in your hands, it dissipated.

He sighed and pushed the dream from his mind, he had other things to think about.

Like the party.

He still hadn't told his parents about it. He had been waiting for the right time to slip it in… but since he didn't exactly speak that much, he'd had nothing to slip it into. His turn had come to talk to his parents, and all he could do was listen to his father tell him about the most recent meeting concerning the mayor laws. He sighed. That's all he ever talked about these days. It was almost like old times: his chair would pull into its position, the clock would start to tick, and his father would start to speak, with him sitting in silence all the while. And he never felt that he could interrupt him, let alone change the subject--it wasn't like his father had chosen to be this distracted and overworked. _Jojo_ was the one who had to be difficult.

He shook his head. It was too early to be thinking about such things, his mind wasn't awake enough yet. Yawning, he slid out of bed and walked across the room, his ears reveling in the sound of his feet pattering against the floor. He entered the kitchen and sank into a seat, grabbing a slice of jelly laden toast from a nearby plate. The chairs didn't rotate on Saturday mornings, it would be pointless considering half the chairs where empty at any given time --the early risers in the family where usually done eating by the time the rest of the late-sleeping McDodds finally appeared at the table.

"'Morning, Jojo," one of his sisters smiled as she slid into the seat next to him. "How are you today?" He gave her a half smile and pushed the plate of toast toward her.

" Oh? What, did something happen?" Most of his sisters had acquired the ability to read Jojo's silence well enough to understand him, but Rachel was one of the few who was fluent in his expressions. One of the middle children (45th Mcdodd, to be exact), she was a shy and very observant who with a talent for art. Jojo was one of the only whos she showed her work to.

"Just a dream," he said, shrugging his shoulders in what he hoped was a nonchalant way. Rachel raised her eyebrows at him but let it slide. If he wanted to tell her, he would.

"So," she began, taking a bite of toast, "when do you plan on telling Mom about the party?" He gave her a surprised look, but she just shrugged, a sly smile on her face. "I have my ways."

He shook his head at her, before shrugging. The truth was, he wasn't even sure if he was going to tell her. Was it worth the trouble? He snuck out every night anyways, what did it matter where he went, as long as he was back before morning?

"Whatever you say…" she said, turning in her chair and beginning to shovel eggs onto her plate.

--

Brie had fallen asleep at her desk again. She awoke with a stiff neck, her Trig papers sticking to her face in a very unattractive way. Because it was house rules that she finish her homework before going out, she had pulled an all-nighter in order to finish before Saturday--she wanted to go to Lindsay's party.

Well, she didn't exactly _want _to…it was more of an obligation. As Lindsay's BFF, it was her duty to show up, early on most occasions, to any party that Lindsay felt she needed to throw, in order to provide moral support in the form of a posse. Brie had just last year been given the honor of the title. She and Lindsay had been friends since elementary school, but that's not saying a lot. Almost _everyone _was Lindsay's friend to a certain extent, but only a select few had the prestigious "Best" added to the front of it.

She had had no problem handling the extra responsibility last year, but this year, with all her homework and advanced classes, it was beginning to be difficult to maintain her status. Only yesterday, Roger Semelson had told her that Lisa Marie Scott had been trying to squeeze her way in during first period. This wouldn't have normally been a problem, as Lisa Marie was relatively new to the group, but she held the advantage of having classes with Lindsay, something that the advanced classes had taken away from Brie. She'd have to keep an eye on that who, and work a little harder at finding time to hang out outside of school in order to make up for the time lost during. It would be difficult to balance everything, but what other choice did she have? In order to survive high school, you had to have friends, it just worked like that.

However, there _did _seemed to be one who who had managed to find his way around that rule. Jojo Mcdodd seemed to be doing fine, and he didn't have _any _friends. Brie really didn't know how he did it. No one to sit with during lunch, no one to hang out with after school…what did he do with his time? Sit alone and do nothing? She couldn't even imagine it. And yet, there he was everyday, walking alone to all his classes. Lindsay had noticed it too, she had explained to them in detail yesterday morning how she couldn't understand how the mayor's son could be such a loner. Lisa Marie had suggested that perhaps he was emo, but Brie had pointed out that all the other emos had friends, and given her a look that had shut her up for the rest of the morning. She had then proceeded to suggest that Lindsay invite him to her party on Saturday, a move that earned her praise from Lindsay and a jealous look from Lisa Marie.

She was interested to see how Jojo handled the party tonight. It was safe to guess that he hadn't been to one before, and Lindsay's parties where always ones to be talked about the next day. She hoped he didn't embarrass himself, she hadn't intended to hurt him at all when she suggested he come, she had just wanted to shut that annoying Lisa Marie down. She shook her head. He'd be fine, it would probably do him good to have some social interaction.

Putting the last of her papers away, she rose from her chair walked to her kitchen. It was already eleven o'clock and she had a lot to do before tonight.

--

Jojo was in his observatory, stalling for time. He was trying to rig the generator for his rain maker to run more quietly, but he just couldn't concentrate. The only thing that his mind was on today was the party. Its not that he was _nervous_ or anything…right? Sure, it _was_ his first party that didn't include 96 children singing happy birthday to one of his sisters, but its not like he'd never been to _any_ kind of party…

_Okay, maybe I'm a little nervous. But it cant be that bad, I mean, other whos my age like them. I'm probably just overrea--_

"OUCH!" He jumped back, clutching the finger he had just burned on a hot wire. _I really shouldn't be working on this now, _he thought, scowling at the generator as if it had burned him on purpose. He sighed and began to clean up, he'd have to find some other--less dangerous--way to occupy his time until tonight. He glanced one more time at the machine before leaving, it had come a long way. It was much larger now, for one thing. Almost twice its original size. He had also modified its appearance-- he had found much larger pieces of plexiglass, and instead of having it lie flat, he tilted it so it formed slant on either side of a long tub of water, that ran like a ravine between the two panes. That way, the water would slide down the plexiglass after being dropped, collecting back into the tub. The only problem now was the noise the generator made--it was drowning out the sound of the water. But that would have to wait for another day. He exited the observatory and walked home.

Once he had reached his room, he shut the door and slipped a CD into his stereo. Turing up the volume, he drowned out his uneasy thoughts with music.

--

He almost forgot about the party, so absorbed was he in his music. If not for his father knocking on his door to ask him to turn it down, he would have kept on forgetting right through till morning.

"Jojo?" His father poked his head through the crack in the door, and gave him a weary smile. "Jojo, son, your going to have to turn that down, your sisters are going to bed."

Jojo hit the power button on his stereo and turned to face his dad. "Better?"

"Thanks. Oh, and Jojo--I was wondering, in a few weeks is a hearing for your case, and it would be…_cool_…if you were there, and maybe said something? Like maybe why you like music so much…it might help them understand why we're trying to change the laws, ya dig?"

"Uh…sure." His fathers face brightened.

"Great! It will really help your case, I'm sure of it!" He reached out a hand and ruffled Jojo's hair before turning to leave.

"Oh, and Jojo," he hesitated just outside the door, sticking his head back in, "I'm proud of the way you've been handling this whole mayor thing. We've really made a lot of progress with Who Court, and I think I'm getting the council to come around on the idea also… just give it time. Things will blow over, don't worry."

He gave his dad a weak smile, his stomach churning at the thought of having to speak in front of the entire Who Court.

"Thanks, Dad." He father left the room, shutting the door behind him, and Jojo collapsed onto his bed.

_The _entire_ Who Court? I can't speak in front of the class without dying from embarrassment, how am I going to handle the entire WHO COURT?_

He rolled over and caught sight of his alarm clock. It read 8:15, the party had started already! He shoved a pillow under his covers, arranging it to look like he was lying on his bed asleep, before quietly opening his door and sneaking down the hall and out the window, into the night.

--

He reached the party at 8:35, the large blue house with sunny yellow trimmings rising before him. Music blared from the house, its beat coursing its way through his body. Several whos where outside, sitting on the porch or lounging on the steps. They gave him curious looks as he entered through the big red door.

Inside, the music was deafening, it's lyrics slurred by the resounding boom of the speakers. There where whos everywhere, but he only recognized about half of them. They where talking animatedly with one another, their gestures exaggerated in order to communicate in the loud atmosphere, and a few others where dancing, their hips swaying to the beat of the music. He wandered further into the room, pushing his way through a crowd of people. In the next room, he could see a table that was laden with food and another holding an array of drinks with various colors. He at last spotted Lindsay talking to a group of whos in the center of the room, and made his way towards her. She was wearing a bright pink dress that matched her hair perfectly, and she appeared to have added some extra bracelets to her wrists for the occasion. He stood awkwardly behind her for a while, before timidly reaching out and tapping her on the shoulder. She turned and gave him a wide, toothy smile.

"Jojo!" she shouted over the music, "I'm so glad you came!" Before he knew what was happening, she had thrown her arms around him in what must have been a welcoming hug, filling his nostrils once again with her perfume. He staggered backward a bit as she let go of him, and she put a hand on his shoulder to keep him there.

"Jojo, this is James and Dave. James, Dave, this is Jojo. I'm sure you recognize each other from school." They flashed him bored smiles that showed that they did recognize him, and they clearly had no interest in him at all.

"Sup." James said in a bored voice, "You're the mayor's son right?" Jojo nodded. "Cool."

"Jojo, come with me, there are more people I want you to meet." Lindsay grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the boys and on towards another group.

"Heeeeey," she cooed as they approached several older-looking whos, "How are you guys?"

"Nice party, Lindsay," one of them grinned, the others nodding in agreement. There was a strong, tangy smell coming off them that he couldn't quite place.

"Have you met my friend, Jojo? He's the mayor's son, the one who saved Whoville last year." _Friend? _He thought, _Now we're friends?_

"Very cool, man," one of the boys said, giving him an appreciative nod.

"Wow, that was you? How _totally _awesome!" Another girl smiled at him. He returned her smile awkwardly, his face blushing slightly.

"Well, we've got to go guys, lots of people to see!" Lindsay said, grabbing Jojo once more and pulling him towards another group, where the same thing happened. This went on for about 15 minutes: Lindsay pulling him from one group to another, introducing him each time as "the _mayor's _son" or "the one who _saved _whoville." He got tired of it really fast, reducing his greetings to a glare by the 10th group. Is this the reason she had him come? To be something she could show off to her friends?

They had just left the most recent group of whos and were heading towards the next when Jojo stopped walking. Lindsay turned around with an impatient smile on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"What's going on?" he asked angrily, "What are you doing?"

She seemed a little surprised that he was talking, and her smile faltered a little bit. "What are you talking about, Jojo?"

"Is this why you invited me? To show me off to your friends?" Her smile completely left her face for a moment, before being replaced with an extremely forced look of amusement.

"Jojo, you're so silly, you know that's not true!"

"Why did you invite me then?" Her face grew very serious, and she spoke with an edge to her voice.

"What does it matter _why _as long as you're invited?" He could feel anger welling up inside him, along with something else he couldn't identify at the moment. How could he be so stupid? He turned and began to walk away.

"Jojo! You _really_ don't want to do that." He stopped long enough to give her a disbelieving glare.

"I think I do." And with that he stormed out the door, leaving Lindsay glowering in his wake. He was so angry when he left that he barely noticed when he bumped into a figure sitting alone on the steps.

"Jojo?" He turned angrily to find Brie to be the one sitting behind him. She stood and took a step towards him, an unusual expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

_What's wrong? She knows "what's wrong," she was probably in on the whole thing! _He gave her such a fierce glare that she was taken aback, surprise clearly written across her face. He didn't wait to hear what she had to say. He turned back around and began to walk angrily home, leaving Brie in confusion on the steps.

The whole way home he furiously berated himself for thinking that anyone might actually want to see him at their party. That anyone might actually want to see him _period. _He climbed the tree noisily, beyond caring if anyone heard him, and it was when he had jumped back in through the window and shut his bedroom door behind him that he finally recognized the other feeling that was stirring in the pit of his stomach.

Disappointment.

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**ah, poor jojo. things will get better soon!! maybe... ;)**


	7. Give Peace a Chance

**Yay! seventh chapter!**

**ok, so bad news. im going to be going out of town in about two weeks (out of country actually, but w/e) and im not going to be back until july, so this story will be most definitely be experiencing a hiatus :( how sad**

**good news? i think i will be updating at least one more time before i leave, and i will be on summer vacation when i get back so that means i will update MUCH more often (seeing as i will actually have a life that does not revolve around school) Horray!**

**anyways, thats the update...**

**OH and thank you so much for all the reviews!! i never even expected ten, let alone twenty, i am so shocked with the outcome (and happy, very happy :D). Keep reviewing, i really appreciate each and every one of them!**

**now, enough chit chat, go read!**

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By first period on Monday, everyone knew exactly what had happened with Jojo McDodd at Lindsay Doyle's party. Lindsay had told them all about how Jojo had tried to make a move on her, and how after she refused to comply with his wishes, he'd left in a huff, muttering about "prudes" and "wastes of time." In between the occasional sniffle, she had explained, her eyes wide with innocence, that she had no idea that he was such a_ perv_, and that she had only wanted to be nice, inviting such an obvious freak to her party. Everyone assured her that she had been exceedingly kind in inviting him, and that there was no way she could have known his _true_ intentions. There was speculation that that his disgusting personality was the reason he had no friends.

Brie, being one of the few to have heard what really happened before Lindsay's version of the night was established, stood quietly beside her best friend and bit her lip as she told her story, carefully inserting the appropriate gasps as discussed, all the while secretly wishing she could interrupt Lindsay's ridiculous tale and tell the truth about what happened. The hardest part about being Lindsay's best friend was not what she had to do, but what she had to _not_ do.

As for Jojo, he wasn't dumb. Though he didn't know the exact story, he was pretty sure that the disgusted looks he was getting from what seemed like the whole of the student body had something to do with the fact that Lindsay had not been happy with his decision to leave her party early. He just walked on in silence as usual, ignoring the occasional mutter of "jerk" or "pig" that found its way to him as he made his way down the hall. It was when one of his sisters approached him, however, that he really felt the brunt of Lindsay's wrath.

"What did you do?" she had demanded of him, after cornering him during lunch. Her eyes, so much like their mothers, had bored into him, searching out an explanation. He had attempted to sidestep away from her but she was too quick.

"Jojo McDodd, tell me now. I know those stories aren't true, but you must have done something pretty bad to make her lie like that. What did you do to her?"

He had glared at her and mumbled something inaudible before pushing his way past her.

"You have to fix it, Jojo! Its _embarrassing_ to be known as 'sister of the _jerk_!'" Her words had shot after him, stinging upon contact and causing a lump to settle somewhere deep in his chest. He was her big brother, he was supposed to defend her, help her, guide her--not embarrass her.

It was the worst day he had had in a long time, and by sixth period, he was ready to shut himself in his observatory and forget everything. He dropped his essay on the piano with everyone else's and slumped into his seat, counting the minutes until the bell releasing them rang.

"Alright guys, I have some exciting news!" Ms. Hapenshire shouted over the din of people settling into their seats. Amidst the chaos, a wad paper of sailed across the room and hit Jojo in the back of the head, causing a few laughs to emerge from somewhere in the back corner. Ms. Hapenshire continued as if she hadn't seen it, her musical voice carrying easily over all the noise. Usually, Jojo enjoyed the way she seemed to sing everything she said, but today it was just annoying.

"The Whoville Symphony Orchestra has graciously offered West Whoville High a spot in their upcoming showcase, 'Harmony of Whoville!' Our class is to create several musical devices that we will play together I unison, a symbolic reference the harmonious society in which we Whos live!" Jojo snorted.

_Harmony, right…_

"Bless you." Ms. Hapenshire said, glancing at him briefly before continuing as if she hadn't been interrupted.

"You will split off into groups of two, in which you will construct a device of your own invention that plays this tune…"

Pausing momentarily to find the correct paper amongst the many piles on the piano's surface, she walked to the cushioned bench that served as her desk chair and sat down with a sheet of music in hand. Cracking her knuckles dramatically, she placed her small hands on the piano's many keys and began to play a simple yet pleasant tune.

"This composition," she continued over the music, "is the tune that you will all play using your creations at the opening ceremony of 'Harmony of Whoville.' You are all to have this assignment completed in two weeks, which will give us plenty of time to rehearse for the performance. I have the copies of the sheet music for all of you-- you should know how to read it by now, we went over it last week-- so be sure to pick one up before you leave today."

Finishing the piece, she rose from the piano and turned to face the class with her hands clasped in front of her and an obvious look of excitement on her face.

"Each of your instruments must be a unique, _original_, creation, to be built by you and the members of _your_ group only. I have already chosen the groups--" she was forced to pause as the class groaned loudly-- "and I have posted them on the board. Oh, isn't this all wonderfully exciting?! " She beamed at them, looking as though she was about to explode with anticipation. The class was not as enthused.

"So wait," Lindsay spoke up, "What do you mean 'invention?' What kind of 'invention?'"

"Any kind you want! It just has to be able to play the tune I showed you. All our finished instruments playing together should sound wonderful! Oh, and that reminds me, we are also in need of a singer. Tryouts will be held after school on Friday, so anyone interested be sure to come!"

The bell gave a loud shrill, drowning out the chatter that had begun when Mrs. Hapenshire had mentioned the singing role. Lindsay turned to Brie with an excited look on her face.

"Brie! You should totally try out with me!" Brie hesitated, she didn't really want to sing in front of a pavilion full of people. She was about to refuse when she caught sight of Lisa Marie staring eagerly at Lindsay, just waiting to pounce on the opportunity if she denied it.

"I'd _love_ to try out with you." She grinned at Lindsay, before smirking at Lisa Marie's disappointed expression.

_Take that_, she thought.

Jojo, meanwhile, had pushed his way to the front of the room with the rest of the class to see who his partner would be. This project actually sounded fun, as long as his partner wasn't someone _too_ horrible, he might enjoy it.

After having his feet stepped on a few times, he decided to wait until the class cleared to read the paper. Its not like he had anything to do after school anyways, not to mention he wasn't looking forward to the walk home with his sisters. He had no doubt what the subject of discussion would be this time.

Finally the mob cleared and he was able to reach the board where the paper was posted. Running his finger down the list, he found his last name then slid his finger to the right so that it rested on the name of his partner.

_Brie Etherson_

"Oh, how unfortunate, Brie! It looks like you've been paired with the perv. Better watch yourself…you never know when he'll strike." Jojo turned to find Lindsay and Brie standing behind him, Lindsay wearing a knowing smirk and Brie staring uncomfortably at the paper. Jojo glared at the two, anger churning in his stomach. They were the only whos left in the room-- Mrs. Hapenshire had left in a rush to get to the teacher's lounge in order to be first in line for the new cappuccino machine. Lindsay, noticing his expression, only grinned wider.

"What's the matter? Don't like your new _image_? Mm, maybe you should have thought about that before…oh well. Its not like its any worse then your old one… at least people actually know who you are now." She smiled and ruffled his hair, and he jerked away from her touch as if she had burned him.

With a laugh she turned and began to walk away.

"Call me later, Brie. We have things to talk about," she said as she turned out the doorway, leaving Jojo still seething and Brie still staring at the paper. He looked up at her one more time before grabbing his bag and stalking towards the door. He had just reached the hall when he heard Brie call his name. He kept walking.

"Jojo, wait." He turned to face her with the same harsh glare that he had given her on Saturday night on his face. She hesitated, looking around as if checking to see if someone was there watching her, before taking a few more hesitant steps towards him.

"Look," she began in a low voice, "I know you probably hate me, but I just want to let you know I'm…I'm sorry. Lindsay, sometimes she can be a little….well, that doesn't matter. The point is that I'm sorry for what she did to you, and I really just want to--"

"She?" Brie stopped mid sentence, startled into silence by his outburst. _He's speaking?? _She hadn't expected this. She had just wanted to make a peace offering for the time being, so they could get through the project. She had expected him to just stand there and glare at her in silence…but now he was _speaking_. She didn't know what to do.

"You're telling me you had nothing to do with it?" He voice was laced with venomous disbelief. She had to admit, she preferred him silent.

"It wasn't my idea to trash your reputation! Believe me, I--" She was cut off again as he let out a snort of disbelief. Ok, now he was starting to get on her nerves.

"Look, _Jojo, _I came here to apologize--"

"Apologize? You came here to make sure everything ok so you could get a good grade on your stupid project!"

"Well, if your not going to accept my apology, that's fiiiine with me."

"I don't want your fake apology!"

"Then don't take it!"

"I'm not!"

"Good!"

"Fine!" They stood there for a moment in the empty hallway, glaring daggers at each other, before storming off in opposite directions.

--

Brie had made it to the end of the hallway before realizing she was going in the wrong direction. Frustration coursing through her, she let out an exasperated growl before backtracking towards the exit.

_What a jerk! _I _come to apologize and he has the nerve to accuse _me_ doing those things to him! _She was seething. How dare he? It wasn't her fault if he was dumb enough to make Lindsay mad at him, you just don't _do_ that…

She squinted as she reached the door, the sunlight harsh in contrast to the dimmer hall lighting. The cool breeze pushed her hair out of her face and calmed her anger slightly. Taking a deep breath, she descended the stairs, slowing her speed and attempting to compose herself. The last thing she needed was to work herself up over nothing. She was already feeling unwell--ever since Lindsay's party she had had what seemed like a constant headache, and she had developed the early symptoms of what appeared to be a cold. So far, her method of denying the possibility of illness had not improved her health at all, so she was planning on taking a large dose of cold medicine the minute she got home and then try to sleep it off.

Turning the corner onto the main street of Whoville, she ran her mind over all the whos who could have possibly given her the retched sickness, in an attempt to take her mind off the unsettling argument she had just had. It couldn't have been Lindsay herself, she had barely said two words to her that night--she had been too busy flirting to have much to say. Lisa Marie was following Lindsay like a lost puppy, so it wasn't her.

_Too bad, _she thought. She would have liked another excuse to loath her.

The only other person who had really talked to her that night was Roger, but he hadn't seemed especially sickly. In fact, he had seemed especially _eager_. She cringed at the thought.

It was painfully obvious that Roger had a crush on Brie, something that amused Lindsay almost as much as it annoyed Brie. Roger was what was commonly referred to as a "dumb jock," a species that unfortunately infested West Whoville High to a great extent. He would try to impress her with his vast stores of football plays and immensely muscular build, neither of which interested Brie in the slightest. He was a pest that seemed to always be buzzing somewhere nearby, waiting to make a move on his unwilling target. He had cornered her at the party that night, and proceeded to compliment her profusely on how "hot" the dress she had on made her look. Instantly regretting the silvery ensemble, she had muttered some sort of thanks before escaping to the porch where she brooded on what had turned out to be a pretty lame night.

Ah, but Roger hadn't been the last one she talked to that night. She reluctantly turned her thoughts again to the small grey and black who with the glare that could kill. She had been so surprised by that, who knew so much force could come out of such a small person? Though he hadn't said a word, his message had been clear as crystal…

She shook her head. Poor guy, he had been so angry. Then again, he had just found out that Lindsay was using him, he had a right to be. She couldn't help but feel a little guilty as she thought back on it, his words replaying in her mind.

_You're telling me you had nothing to do with it?_

It had been _her_ idea to invite him….and she had stood right there while Lindsay told those lies and said _nothing_, even though she knew the truth…

Maybe it was a little bit her fault.

She sighed and stuck her key into the door. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that the normally long walk home had seemed to take no time at all.

_Maybe I should try apologizing one more time…. _

She knew where he lived, everyone did. The mayors house was the big blue and white house at the end of Whobber Street. She could just stop by and give her peace offerings one more try…it couldn't hurt.

The sharp clank of her keys as they hit the counter sent a sharp pain coursing through her head.

_First, I need a nap. _She thought, _and some meds. Then __I'll give peace one more chance…._

_--_

The walk home hadn't been as bad as he thought it would be. His sisters hadn't questioned him at all, they seemed to have reached some sort of mutual understanding amongst themselves that it was best to leave him be. Instead, they had walked a little bit behind him the whole way home, muttering to each other in voices that Jojo couldn't quite hear, which, while still slightly annoying, was definitely preferable to the onslaught of questions that he had expected. At first he hadn't given their conversation any thought, so angry was he about the shouting match he had just been provoked into having. He had been fumingly muttering to himself when his ears had picked up a snippet of their conversation.

"…Brie Etherson…Lindsay's party….totally! I mean come on, everyone knows…."

"I heard …didn't even want be there….a loner the entire time! _Why_ she would do that…."

"Me neither…"

Intrigued despite himself, he had softened his stomping footsteps and listened closer.

"She's running herself ragged! Did you see her today? Mary Lynn Scott told me she never even sleeps anymore."

"You know how the Scotts are though, you cant trust everything…."

"I know. But have you _seen_ her? She looks atrociously tired. I mean, hasn't she ever heard of beauty sleep?…"

This had surprised him. Where they talking about Brie? Why had she been alone at the party? Her best friend was throwing it, she should have been with her. And why was she so tired? She had looked a little sickly today…

These questions had bounced around in his mind the rest of the way home, causing him to think again about the words they had exchanged.

She had said sorry…and he had to admit, she had sounded sincere when she said it. Maybe he _was_ being a jerk. So what if she was only apologizing to get the project done? He needed the grade too, so why should he fight her if she wanted to reconcile things…even if it _was_ only temporary?

_Besides, _he thought later that night, as he climbed out the hall window and into the night, _maybe if I'm nice to her, she'll tell people I'm not a jerk. _

_He_ didn't really care what people thought about him, but if his sisters where being affected by it, he had to do something. He was their brother after all, it was his job.

By the time he reached his observatory, he had resolved to apologize the next day when he saw her. That way, things would get better, at least for his sisters. That was all that really mattered anyways.


	8. Soup

**Yay another update! not much to say about this one... it might be the last before i leave... :sniff: but ill try to get one more in**

**i dont really have anything else to say...review please!**

**enjoy :)**

* * *

He had it all planned out.

At the beginning of sixth period, he would write Brie a note, explaining how he was sorry he had been a jerk yesterday, and agreeing to her offer of peace. He'd send it to her somehow, probably by paper airplane when Mrs. Hapenshirehad her back turned, and then hopefully all would be well. He went over the plan in his head during fifth period while sketching in his notebook, the music from his whopod playing at full blast to drown out the horrible shrieking of Ms. Flitherby. He had it so loud that he didn't hear the bell ring, and only realized that it was time for sixth period when everyone around him began to rise and head for the door.

The plan was perfect, so he was very much assured as he walked to room 420. When he reached the classroom, he took his seat and began to write the note.

_Brie--_

_Sorry about yesterday….truce?_

_--Jojo_

Ok, perhaps it wasn't his most eloquent piece of writing, but it got the point across. He never was one for words anyways. He leaned back in his chair and waited for the class to begin so he could go through with his plan. He discovered, however, that there was one small problem.

Brie wasn't there.

--

When Brie finally awoke from the deathly sleep she had fallen into, she felt as though she had been hit by a train. She couldn't breath through her nose, and her throat felt as though it were on fire. She had stumbled to the bathroom and taken a hot shower, which had somewhat relieved her painful sinus headache, before taking a generous amount of Whoquil and plopping down on the couch with a box of tissues in hand and a thick quilt wrapped around her shoulders.

She was definatly sick, that much was obvious. She had, for a short time yesterday, thought she had had escaped the illness, but last nights events had caused her to take a turn for the worse.

She had awoken from her nap at around 6, feeling refreshed and considerably better. She had set out for Jojo's house just as twilight fell, the sky coyly blushing a rosy pink, with dark silver clouds looming in the distance. She had worn a light sweater to keep out the crisp fall air that had taken the place of the summer's warmth-- though it was only the third week of school, the warm weather was already becoming a memory.

She had reached his door just as night fell, and she remembered pulling her jacket sweater tighter around herself. The clouds had seemed to follow her to Jojo's door, and had begun to crowd overhead in a very threatening way, causing her to worry that it might rain.

Just as she had reached out her hand to knock on the door, a rustling from around the corner of the house had startled her. Fear had coursed through her--what if it was something…._bad_? In a panic she had hidden behind a bush that lined their doorway. She had situated herself and peaked through the twigs and leaves just in time to catch a small shadow turning the corner. It walked with light, silent footsteps, it's shoulders slumped in a casual way.

_That cant be…Jojo?_

What was he doing out at this time of night? From the looks of it he was sneaking out…but where would _Jojo_ sneak off to? Her natural curiosity had gotten the best of her and, after waiting several seconds to place a safe distance between them, she had begun to follow.

He had walked quite a distance, leading them down a path just outside of the town that wove its way through a field of tall, lush grass thatdanced in the rising wind. The street and porch lights no longer lit their way, and though Jojo had seemed to know the path well enough to continue at a normal pace despite dark, his pursuer had been forced to slow considerably in order to avoid tripping on the small stones that were scattered in the path. The whistling of the wind as it cut through the grass had covered the sound of her clumsy footsteps, but it's harsh coldness had penetrated her thin sweater with ease, causing her to shiver slightly. The air had become slightly moist with the salty smell of rain and the elements had begun to have an effect on her health, forcing her to muffle more than one sneeze as they progressed.

He had eventually led her to the edge of a cliff where crumbling stairs led up towards the cloudy sky, eventually cutting off into nothing. To her shock, he had begun to climb them without hesitation, while she herself had remained behind. When he reached the top, he had climbed into a bucket that was hanging from what she now realized must have been a giant mobile, balanced by various boulders hanging from ropes of different length. She had watched in awe as he pulled out an umbrella and caught the wind, causing the bucket to flow smoothly through the air and rise at a rapid pace as the mobile adjusted to some sort of weight that he had dropped onto one of the boulders as he passed. She had lost sight of him after this, the darkness engulfing his small form, and had merely stood there, too shocked to move, and watched the mobile right itself in the absence of his weight. The boulders had moved surreally through the air, mimicking the heavy clouds that drifted lazily overhead. Too unsure to board the gadget herself, she had turned around and begun to walk back towards town, thoughts running rapidly through her mind.

_What _was _that? Did he build it? By himself? Why would he do that? _

What lay beyond those decaying steps that he so desperately needed to reach?

Her musings had been cut short, however, when black clouds had let loose their heavy burdens, causing rain to pour down upon her as she ran the rest of the way home. She had reached her house drenched from head to foot and shivering uncontrollably. Her mother had been aghast at the sight of her, and demanded to know where she had been. Unable to put words to what she had experienced, she had simply said she got lost. Though her mom had been obviously skeptic, she had let it slide when she realized that Brie's cold had finally gotten the better of her. She had been sent, sniffling and sneezing, straight to bed with the order not to rise until she was better.

That was how she had gotten where she was presently, sitting miserably on her living room couch while everyone else was at school.

Thinking back on the previous night, she now realized where Jojo had been heading. Those steps once lead to the old observatory, before it was abandoned and left to decay-- she remembered reading about it in some old Whostery text years ago.

_I wonder what he does in there…_she thought to herself as she snuggled down into her quilt and closed her eyes. _I wonder…_

--

When he got home that day, Jojo had decided to continue with his plan…with a few modifications of course. He had overheard Lindsay telling some boy that Brie was sick, so he had decided that he would just have to go to her. With the project two weeks away, they would have to get started as soon as she was better in order to finish making their invention in time.

_And what better way to start_, he thought, _than on a clean slate?_

He grabbed an apple out of the kitchen and was just about to leave when he realized that he had no clue where she lived. As he was considering this problem, his father walked in with the usual cheery grin on his face.

"Hey there Jojo, what's happenin'?" he asked, flashing some sort of "hip" sign at his son with one hand and balancing a cup of coffee on a saucer with the other.

Jojo eyed the coffee warily as its contents splashed dangerously close to the rim.

"Dad, do you know where the Ethersons live?"

"Sure," his father replied, setting down the cup (much to Jojo's relief) and picking up the newspaper off the counter, "they live on…..Whelphers….I believe, right next to the Burroths. Nice people, those Burroths. Mr. Burroth's a little to serious for my taste, but a good guy none the less. I remember, back in high school, when John Burroth asked Jamie Grover to the prom, an--"

"Thanks," Jojo muttered, cutting off the story before it evolved into one of the hour long tales that his father liked to trap people into hearing. He turned and began to head for the door.

"Why do you ask, son?"

"Brie was sick today so I thought I'd bring her the work from our class." He regretted saying this the minute he caught sight of his fathers face. His smile was widening and, though he was trying to hide it, he looked overjoyed at the thought of his son spending time with a who his own age. He knew Jojo didn't have many friends, and though he wanted to interfere and ask why this was, he had learned over the past few months that if he stopped trying to get to Jojo, Jojo would come to him. So he had maintained his silence on the subject, filling their 17 seconds together each night with meaningless chatter about the progress of his fight to overturn tradition, always hoping that his son would interrupt with something…anything…to say. He hadn't realized how much he had been missing his son's voice until that day last summer when he had finally broken his silence. The thought of this moment only caused his smile to widen.

"Brie Etherson, eh? Nice girl…smart too isn't she? Yes a very nice girl…Are you, um _friends _with her?"

Jojo didn't miss his emphasis on the word "friends," and merely scowled at his father.

"Alright, alright, don't tell me, but if she's sick you should take her some soup. Here," he reached into the cupboard behind him and took out a can of Campfells InstaWhoSoup and, removing the apple his son was about to bite into, he placed the can in his son's hands. "They like it when you do stuff like that."

Choosing to ignore the last statement, Jojo rolled his eyes and walked out of the kitchen.

"Good luck!" His father called after him. Ned chuckled to himself and took a bite of the apple that he now held. _Ah, young love. _

Having been to the Burroths before for a family dinner, Jojo was able to find Brie's house relatively easily. He crossed the lawn and climbed the steps up to the front door. Knocking twice, he waited patiently for someone to answer, tapping his fingers on the side of the soup can. He liked how this part of town sounded. If you listened, you could just barely make out the bubbling of the Town Square Fountain in the distance, and the trees rustled pleasantly. A boy down the street was bouncing a ball in an irregular beat, which contrasted nicely with the rhythmic pat of his sister's jump rope hitting the pavement as she skipped over it. He smiled slightly, he liked it here.

He turned his head as the door opened, revealing Brie wearing blue pajamas and a very shocked expression. She looked at him with eyebrows raised, waiting for him to speak.

He suddenly found it very hard to do so, however, feeling himself fall back into his usual silence that arose in the presence of people he wasn't comfortable with. He stood there awkwardly, not sure of what to do, while she continued to stare at him as if she didn't quite believe what she was seeing. He was suddenly struck with an idea and, rummaging through his pockets with his free hand, he finally produced a crumbled piece of notebook paper. He smoothed it out slightly and handed it to her, feeling nervous for some reason. He was afraid she was going to shut the door in his face. She cautiously took the note, as if she suspected that he was somehow trying to trick her, and glanced down at it.

_Brie--_

_Sorry about yesterday….truce?_

_--Jojo_

_Sorry for yesterday? _She thought. He's _sorry?_

She looked at him with surprise, not sure of what to say. He shifted uneasily under her gaze and after a moment held up some sort of can that he had been holding in his hand.

"I brought soup." He said it like a question.

She raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly. Taking a step back from the door, she tilted her head towards the room behind her, inviting him to come inside.

He hesitated.

_She wants me to come in? _

He had only planned up to the point of apologizing, and now that he had done that, he was at a loss for what to do next. He stepped awkwardly past her and into her living room. Shutting the door behind him, she led him to the couch where they both sat at opposite ends. He looked at her, waiting for her to say something. She bit her lip, thinking, before holding out a finger signaling for him to wait a moment. He nodded.

_Why isn't she talking? _He thought as she rose and walked out of the room. _That's usually my thing…_

She returned with a pad of paper and a pen, and began scribbling something down once she had resumed her seat across from him. She finished writing and passed it to him before sitting back and waiting.

_I can't talk, I lost my voice. _

He looked up at her and she nodded, handing him the pen as an afterthought.

_Oh, _he scribbled back, _I brought…soup. _

_Thanks. Is that a peace offering?_

_Ya, sorry about that whole thing yesterday. I shouldn't have blamed you for everything._

_You had a right to be angry. Lindsay shouldn't have said those things about you. I know they're not true._

Jojo felt his face grow slightly warm after he read the last note, though he didn't know why.

_Thanks. So we're ok, for now?_

_For now. _

She gave him a small smile to show that she was teasing, and he returned it.

_So what are we going to do about our project?_

As she read his note, she thought back to the contraption at the Observatory. This was going to be interesting.

_Do you have anything in mind?_

He smiled. _She has no idea, _he thought.

--

Jojo left when Brie's parents got home from work around five. He had surprised her once again, this time with his ability to create. They had come up with some pretty imaginative instruments, and she was excited to get started. She had also realized that his appreciation for music went deeper than she had originally thought. The way he wrote about it, you could tell it was his passion.

They had made plans to meet up again after school the next day to get started on the final plans. Their hanging out together wouldn't be questioned by Lindsay because of the project, but Brie would have to pretend to be annoyed by the fact that she had to spend time with him, so she wouldn't get any ideas. She had to admit, however, that though things had been awkward initially, she and Jojo had become more and more comfortable around each other as time went on, and by the end of his visit she would go so far as to say they were having _fun._

_And to think_, she mused later that night, _neither of us said a word._


	9. Unexpected Boredom

**Im updating one more time before i leave the country! horray! now this will be the last one i have up for two whole weeks, so read it slowly lol**

**im also working on a oneshot for NikChik-11 which i will post when i get back...so something to look forward to i guess**

**anyways, thanks for all the reviews! i love you guys!**

**enjoy the story and ill see you in two weeks!**

**-Reva**

* * *

Jojo shook his head, taking the pencil from her hand and erasing what she had just drawn.

"Now what was wrong with that? Another horn would sound nice with the…"

"It would throw off the balance."

"Balance? How would ONE horn throw off the balance? If anything it would balance out the sound of the drum thing and the chime doohickeys. Its all rather light right now and it could use a low--"

"No, I mean if we add any more horns it will literally fall over. Look at it."

"Hmm…maybe if we added one on the other side too it would balance it out a bit…"

"No."

Brie gave an exasperated sigh and leaned back in her chair, her fingers resting on her temples.

"You are infuriating."

"But I'm right."

"Shut it. Just…shut it."

It was Thursday and they were in sixth period, attempting to work on the designs for their instrument. Mrs. Hapenshire had been allowing them free time for the past few days in the hopes that some of the less enthused students would actually turn in an instrument that involved more than just a rubber band strung across a tissue box. The majority of the class, however, used the time to their own advantage--catching up on the latest gossip or socializing with each other-- while those who actually attempted to work were eventually reduced to forlorn staring, gazing intently at their papers as if hoping the assignment would plan itself. The only group that had shown any signs of creating anything that remotely resembled and instrument was that of Jojo and Brie.

In contrast to the other students, they actually used the given time to improve their already promising piece. Constantly bickering in low voices, anyone watching would think that they were not enjoying themselves in the least. Lindsay (who happened to be one of those watchers) was inclined to believe that Jojo would most likely not survive to see the finished project if he kept irritating Brie…to an outsider she looked as though she were ready to kill. On the contrary, though Jojo did seem to evoke her frustration in a way that no other could, Brie couldn't help but admit that she had grown a liking to the small who. He was actually funny--though she didn't think he meant to be--and he had an interesting personality that she was sure other whos would enjoy, if only he would speak up every once and a while and show it.

However, the one thing that she was beginning to notice most about Jojo was how bright he was. She always assumed that his lack of speech was due to a lack of intelligence, but she now came to realize that he was just as smart as she was--something that couldn't be said about the majority of West Whoville High. He was especially clever when it came to engineering, and could always point out a flaw or mistake in their plans that she herself had overlooked. This was generally the root of the bickering--Brie didn't like to be wrong.

"Well, I guess if you really want to add a horn we could…" he mumbled, trailing off as he began to sketch a horn protruding from inside the mouth of another. Brie watched from over his shoulder.

"That's exactly what I was suggesting," she lied.

"Oh, of course." He replied, failing in his attempt to hide a smirk. She ignored it.

"So when can we start building?"

"Well," he said, leaning back from the paper and scratching his head, "I guess we could start today…" The other thing that Brie noticed about him was how painfully shy he was. He would never initiate the plans for meeting after school, almost as if he were afraid he would be denied.

"Are you busy after school?" she finally asked after a moment of silence.

He shook his head.

"Then we'll start today, you can come over after school or something." He nodded in agreement.

"Jojo McDodd," Mrs. Hapenshire sang across the room, interrupting their planning. "I have a pass for you. To the principal's office." A chorus of "Ooooooo" and "Someone's in trouble!" immediately filled the room, causing him to blush slightly at the attention and glance at Brie with a pleading look, as if she could some how get him out of it. She gave him a look that clearly implied that he was on his own, so, followed by a few lingering jeers from his classmates, the blushing who made his way to the front of the room, where he grabbed his pass off the piano before shuffling out the door.

The principals office was located at the end of the main hallway, sandwiched between attendance and counseling. The door was plastered with inspirational posters shouting things like "Smiles are contagious, catch one today!" and "Oh, the places you'll go with a high school diploma!" At the foot of the door there was a welcome mat depicting a smiling who with the words "PrinciPAL" scrawled beneath her. Jojo grabbed the doorknob, which lay hidden beneath a poster of Who U, and opened the door, taking care to step directly on the mat-who's nose as he entered the room.

The door was only a preview to what lay beyond the threshold-- inside there where so many posters, you couldn't look anywhere without being bombarded with words of inspiration. Aside from the main desk, the room was furnished with a moldy green couch, which Jojo was certain was original to the century-old building, and two overly cushioned chairs that sat facing the desk. The principal herself was perched on top of a mountain of books that sat on her chair in order to raise her to eye level. When it came to lack of height in Whoville, Mrs. Snicklebee gave Jojo a run for his money.

"Jojo!" She exclaimed in her high voice when she saw him enter. "Come in, come in! Have a seat! Would you like a sucker?"

Shaking his head at the bowl of sweets that sat before him, he slid reluctantly into one of the stuffed chairs and gave a startled _hmmph_ as he sank an inch or so into the cushion.

"Right then, so lets get down to business. How do you like school?" She leaned forward on her stack of books, and gazed intently at him through glasses that greatly magnified her eyes. He shrugged, squirming slightly under her scrutiny. She leaned back and peaked into a manila folder that sat on her desk.

"I see from your records that you're an average student, mostly C's from the looks of it, some B's. Leaves something to be desired from the future mayor!" Jojo winced at the comment, but Mrs. Snicklebee took no notice as she was busy thumbing through his file.

"Well, I've just had a talk with your music teacher, Ms. Hapenshire, and she seems to think that you have much more talent than your grades would divulge." She eyed him at the mention of his talent, and he blushed and shook his head, but Mrs. Snicklebee ignored this.

"She showed me the essay that you were required to write for your class, and I have to admit that I was surprised. That essay showed skill that is expected of a student in an advanced class. But according to your transcript, you are in basic. Why is that Jojo?"

He shook his head again, wishing he could sink the rest of the way into his chair. His face was now a lovely shade of crimson.

"Hmm, you're a shy one eh? Come on now, I'm your princi-PAL, remember? You can talk to me!" Her voice was laced with sugar, so sweet it could probably cause more cavities than the suckers. She waited a moment, and when Jojo showed no signs of speaking, she leaned back in her chair with a small sigh.

"Very well, I'll just have to have you come in after school on Friday for a brief aptitude test, just to test your skills. Don't worry, it wont affect your grades at all, it's just for the records. You can go ahead and go now, I think the bell's already rung." She flashed him a grin that seemed way to big for her face. "Here, take a sucker to go. I insist." She pushed the bowl again towards Jojo, and he reluctantly took one before dislodging himself from the chair and heading towards the door.

"See you tomorrow!" She called after him.

--

Brie decided to wait for him by the main steps.

After he had left with his pass, Lindsay had called her over to her group, where she had been immersed in the latest gossip and filled in on all the dirt that she had somehow missed in the hour that they had been apart. While Lindsay chattered on, Brie had found herself experiencing an odd sensation that seemed so out of place she at first couldn't identify it. She was bored.

She had always dealt with Lindsay's endless rattle of gossip in the same way she handled breathing. Yes, it may be a waste of energy, but it was necessary if she wanted to live--socially speaking. She had always taken it in stride, accepting it as another part of life and moving on, but never was she _bored _by it. It was as if she had been breathing in smog-filled air her whole life, but had only now realized it's pollution.

The bell had rung and they had exited the building, with Lindsay still talking and Brie still pretending to listen while really trying to figure out the source of her strange new feelings. They had reached the steps when Lindsay had mentioned something about how unfortunate it was that Brie was stuck with such a lame music partner, the comment jolting Brie into the realization that she had plans with Jojo. She had mumbled something along the lines of "Oh ya I know, that reminds me I have to wait for him now, you go ahead, save yourself" before sitting on the steps and waving as Lindsay walked away, expressing her pity as she went.

So Brie now sat on the steps alone, contemplating the mystery of her boredom. She just couldn't explain it. Why now, of all times, was she bored by Lindsay? It had never happened before….

She was broken out of her musings by the sound of footsteps approaching her. She looked up with a smirk on her face, expecting to see Jojo.

"So, what did you do this-- Oh, hi Roger."

Her smile faded as the who approached, flexing his muscles in a casual way.

"Hey there gorgeous, what's a lovely who like you doing all by herself?"

She almost gagged at the onslaught of false complements.

"Nothing Roger, I'm waiting for someone."

"What a coincidence! I'm waiting for someone too…someone like _you_."

"Roger--"

"Shhhh, its ok, you don't need to speak. I can see your emotions in your eyes."

She was glaring at him, her grey eyes hard as the pavement. He sat next to her, scooting uncomfortably close, forcing her to scoot away in order to free her personal space that he was currently violating. Unfortunately, he simply scooted after her, so she was eventually squished uncomfortably between him and the stair rail.

"I've been really trying, baby. Trying to hold back this feeling, for so long--"

"Roger, those are song lyrics." He ignored her, and leaned his face towards hers so that their noses almost touched. She had already leaned back as far as she could go, and was trapped with no escape.

"And if you feel like I feel, baby--"

"Roger, GET OFF."

"Come on…" Suddenly someone behind them cleared their throat, causing Roger to freeze just as he was about to plant an unwanted kiss on Brie. He turned his head to see who had interrupted their romantic moment, Brie leaning her head to the side in order to see around him. A small black and grey who stood on the steps, very shocked and confused expression on his face.

"Jojo!" Her voice was laden with relief, also reflected in her face.

"McDodd, can't you see we are busy here? Why don't you go be emo somewhere else, like where no one can see you." He turned back to Brie only to get the wind knocked out of him as her elbow collided with his stomach.

"Roger Semelson you are such a pig!" She exclaimed as she pushed him off and rose to go stand with Jojo.

"M--me? _He's_ the pig!" Roger gasped, pointing an accusing finger at Jojo. "You better watch it buddy, if you lay one finger on her--"

"Roger, if Jojo is a pig, then you are the lowest scum that ever infested Whoville. I'd rather be with him than with you any day." Jojo's face turned a deep burgundy, but Brie was too angered to notice.

"What, are you _defending_ him?" Roger asked incredulously.

"N-no!" She stuttered back. For some strange reason, she blushed slightly at his comment. "Why don't you just get lost, Roger. No one wants you here." Giving him one more fierce glare, she grabbed Jojo by the wrist and pulled him down the stairs, knocking Roger with her shoulder as she passed.

--

They began the walk to Brie's house in an awkward tenseness. Brie strode with heavy footsteps, mumbling furiously under her breath, her eyes flashing with anger, while Jojo walked quietly beside her, staring at the ground, his face still blushing slightly.

_What did she mean _with_ me? She couldn't mean what I'm thinking she meant, that would be…No, that couldn't be what she meant. No definitely not. Could it?_

Thoughts raced through his head, his heart beating strangely fast for the slow pace at which they were walking. He had gotten a strange feeling in his stomach when she had said that-- it was a warming feeling, but at the same time it felt as though his stomach was doing summersaults…he kind of liked it. But what did it mean?

After they had walked a block or so, Jojo decided to break the silence.

"Are you ok?" He asked timidly, his voice so quiet it was almost inaudible.

"I'm fine." She shot at him angrily, startling him with her harshness. He nodded acceptingly. She glanced at him and her expression softened slightly, she didn't mean to be angry at _him_.

"Sorry, I'm just…upset. Roger is just such a jerk and he doesn't understand what no means….he just cant take a hint. He's just so _ridiculous..."_

Her voice trailed off and they were plunged again into awkward silence.

"But you have to admit," Jojo finally muttered, "he does have a way with words…"

He glanced at Brie, the laughter in his eyes betraying the seriousness of his voice. She looked at him in silence for a moment before letting out a fit of laughter that was so hard it caused her sides to hurt. Jojo chuckled with her, happy that she was no longer angry.

Brie's laughter subsided as they approached her house, but her smile remained. She had to admit, she was never bored with Jojo.

* * *

**Hope you liked it, do i sense something there that wasn't there before?...**

**oh and i was wondering, is this moving too fast or not making sense in any way? let me know**


	10. I Will

**First off, let me start off my saying my deepest apologies to all of you who i told that this would be posted like five days ago (coughbrookecoughcough)... yikes. im not even going to make excuses.**

**next, HELLO! i missed you guys and your stories! its really good to be home**

**oh and GUESS what my in-flight movie was on the way home! HORTON HEARS A WHO! it was a fantastic surprise to say the least.**

**anyways, heres the story, the song i used is called I Will and its by The Beatles. Take a listen, its adorable. **

**enjoy!**

**_PS: Don't forget to let me know what you think, i love reviews (good or bad :D)!_**

* * *

The next morning, Jojo awoke on time, and was ready for school five minutes before he actually had to leave, much to the delight of his sisters.

"Jojo'sactually _ready_?" Hooley said, jaw dropping dramatically as she slipped her backpack onto her back.

"Are you sure we're not just late?" Halley put in, sarcasm evident in her voice. She grinned at Jojo's scowling face as she skipped towards the door.

"It's 'cause Jojo's got a _girlfriend_ now, he's got to be on time!" Jojo felt his face grow warm as he followed the twins out the door.

"Do not," he muttered under his breath, sending both the girls warning looks.

"Jojo's got a girlfriend! Jojo's got a girlfriend!" The chant picked up as several of his other sister's caught on to the game, while two of the younger ones began skipping in circles around him.

"What's her name?" Daphne, a six year old Mcdodd, asked in an achingly innocent voice, tugging on Jojo's sleeve to get his attention.

"It's _Brie,"_Hooley answered her, grin now mirroring her twin's. They were clearly enjoying themselves. "Jojo _looveess_ her."

"Is she pretty?"

"What's she like, Jojo?"

"Does she talk?"

"Bring her over, Jojo!"

"Yeah! Bring her over!"

Jojo breathed a sight of relief as they reached the town square, where his sisters would have to turn right in order to get to the middle and elementary schools, while he, Halley, and Hooley went left. He winced as the girls shouted their goodbyes to him, their yells causing several passersby to stare. Ninety-four girls all shouting one name tended to draw a bit of attention. Jojo shook his head, he knew there was a reason he always left late.

The rest of the walk was relatively normal, Halley and Hooley fell back into their normal gossipy states and Jojo was left pretty much alone. When they reached the school, they still had about fifteen minutes before the bell rang, so while the twins left to join a group of their friends, Jojo wandered off towards his locker in order to kill some time.

The halls were mostly empty, seeing as the majority of the students were outside enjoying the warm sunlight that had graced the usually chilly fall morning, so he figured he would have some time to himself. He approached his locker and had just begun twisting the combination into his lock, however, when another who entered the hall.

It just so happened that Roger Semmelson had left his geometry book in his locker and was on his way to pick it up (not that he planned to actually use it, but he felt that carrying it around made him look like an intellectual). His less-than-sharp observations had failed in the past to clue him in to the fact that he shared a locker hallway with Jojo McDodd, so he simply thought himself in good luck when he spotted the small who standing just the right distance from an open locker.

"Hey, McDodd!" Jojo groaned inwardly when he saw the bulky who approaching. This was not going to end well.

"What do you think you're doing, messing around with Brie?" He yelled. "She's _my_ girl, and--" Roger was interrupted as Jojo let out an involuntary snort of laughter.

"Is something funny, McDodd? Because I'm not joking!" He was now inches away from Jojo's face, having cleared the distance quickly in his anger.

_This guy has major personal space issues_, Jojo thought to himself, wrinkling his nose as Roger's putrid breath blew into his face.

"Listen here," he whispered menacingly, grabbing a hold of Jojo's front with one hand and sticking a finger in his face with the other, "I don't know who you think you are, but I'll tell you right now, you're _nothing_. Nobody gives a damn about you, especially not Brie! So whatever it is that you think you're doing, think again, because I _do not _mess around when it comes to her. If I so much as see you looking at her, I'll punch you so hard you'll be aching for days. You got it?" Jojo just glared at him, his eyes glowing with hatred.

"Now," Roger grinned, leaning back, keeping Jojo still with one hand and running a hand through his hair with the other. "I think you need some time to think about what we just discussed." Easily picking up his small form, he forced a struggling Jojo into the open locker and slammed the door shut. His echoing laughter slowly faded as he walked away, leaving Jojo fuming in the cramped space. Growling angrily, he punched one of the metal walls, causing the entire locker to resonate with the noise.

_This is just my luck_.

Breathing deep, calming breaths, he began to examine the door of his enclosure, trying to figure out how to escape. The lock was positioned on a simple lifting latch, preventing it's operation until the proper code was set in. The inner workings of the lock were laid bare--three small metal gears with one notch each, all pressed together by a spring--so that the combinations could be changed from year to year, so picking it from the inside would be no challenge. It was lucky that Jojo knew his simple mechanisms. Leaning forward with a sigh, he began to twist each gear with his thin fingers until all the notches lined up, allowing a pin to slide down and free the latch. Lifting the device with one hand, he placed the other on the floor of the locker to support his weight while using his feet to kick the door open.

Jojo jumped down from his locker just as the bell rang, the babbling noise of students as they began to flood the halls drifting to his ears. He brushed down his fir and slammed the locker shut irritably before turning to enter the tide of students as they shuffled to their classes.

Things had just gotten a little more complicated.

--

"I'm so excited for today!" Lindsay said as they walked up the main steps.

"Why?" Brie asked, disinterest barely evident in her tone. Lindsay gave her an appalled look.

"Don't tell me you forgot! Brie, TRYOUTS are today! For the singing role! You know, music class…"

"Oh, right! Those are today? I guess I did forget." Lindsay frowned at her friend. She hadn't been herself lately, her usual attentive and quick-witted nature was gone, to be replaced with an air of boredom. It was _very_ irritating.

"If it's not important to you, you don't have to go," Lindsay said, her tone irritated and sharp. "I can just take Lisa Marie with me instead."

"No! No, I'm interested, very interested! So, what are we going to sing?" Lindsay smiled. Just like that, she had her attention again. It was too easy.

"Well, I think we have to try out individually, but--"

"I-Individually? You mean like, by ourselves?" Brie looked hesitant, Lindsay knew she didn't like to sing in front of people. In fact, she wasn't sure _she_ had even heard her sing.

"Yah, that's generally what that word means." She replied in a sarcastic tone. "Is there a problem?"

"Nope. No problem at all." Her face, which had paled slightly and held an expression of dread, was not convincing. But that didn't matter, as long as Brie showed up to the auditions, Lindsay would be happy. She couldn't very well show up _alone_, that would be unthinkable! She laughed at the thought. That, of course, was why she had entourages and people like Brie--so she would never have look like she was a loner.

"Anyways," she continued, ignoring Brie's unease, "I was thinking of singing 'Crazy', but then I was like, is this a little too…you know? But then I remembered it's by Whotney Spears, and you can't go wrong with Whotney. But I'm still a little unsure… What do you think?" She turned to Brie, who still appeared to be out of it.

"Huh? No, that's a good one. Sing that one." Lindsay raised arched an eyebrow. What in Who's name was wrong with her?

"Brie, what are _you_ going to sing?" She asked, speaking slowly as if that might help her understand better.

"I have no clue." She replied exasperatedly. "What do you think I should sing?" Lindsay looked thoughtful for a moment, pouting slightly with the effort.

"I know! You should sing 'Baby One More Time'! That way we will both be singing Whotney Spears!" Lindsay smiled at her own genius. "It will be perfect."

"Yah…" Brie trailed off again to where ever she went when she stopped listening to Lindsay. Lindsay frowned at her. Where ever that place was, she didn't like it. Things were going to have to change.

--

In sixth period, they worked in almost complete silence. Neither one of them really felt like talking.

"We're going to have to do the first test on it today," Brie mumbled after ten minutes of neither speaking. Jojo nodded in response.

_The usual? _He scrawled on the margins of their blueprints. He didn't really feel much like talking, they day's events had put him back into his mute, introverted mood. Brie took the pencil from him and scribbled her own response, her letters neat and orderly next to Jojo's untidy squiggles.

_I can't right after school, but if you want to meet at my house later on… _

_Sounds good. I can't right after either, I have to take an "aptitude test" for Mrs. Snicklebee. Apparently they think I'm smarter than I let on. _Jojo made a face as he passed Brie the pencil, expressing his distaste, but she just shook her head at him.

_Good, you're way to smart to be in those classes you're in anyways. It's about time they noticed._

Jojo blushed, for the second time that day, and shook his head.

"It's true." She grinned. He was much to modest for his own good, and she had taken it upon herself to try and instill some self-confidence in him. Every time she would embark upon this mission, his face would flush a lovely rose color and he would fervently oppose whatever it was that she was trying to praise him on. She found it all very amusing.

Seeing the direction she was going in, Jojo quickly picked up the pencil and changed the subject.

_Why can't you meet right after school? What are you doing? _

Brie's smile disappeared as she read his words, her face falling into a scowl. He gave her a questioning look, and she reluctantly picked up the pencil to respond.

_I'm trying out. For the singing thing._

Now it was Jojo's turn to smile, the sight sending strange flutters through Brie's heart despite her sour mood. Had his smile always been that… nice?

_Why in the speck are you doing that?_

_I have to. Lindsay's making me._

_She's making you?_

_Yes, she's making me._

He looked at her, a serious expression now on his face.

"You don't always have to do everything she tells you to, you know."

"Yes, I do."

"You do?"

"_Yes_."

"Why?"

She glared at him. He couldn't even come close to understanding why, he had never been-- or even tried to be--popular, and he knew that. He was just asking to irritate her, she just knew it. She turned back to the pencil and paper.

_I just do, ok? You wouldn't get it, there's no point in me trying to explain._

_I wouldn't get it? I thought I was __supposed to be 'smarter than I let on.'_

_Just drop it, ok?_

He looked at her for a moment, a strange, contemplative expression on his face. It made her uneasy, it was like he was looking straight through her defenses.

"What?" She finally shot at him, breaking his train of thought and causing him to blush again. He shook his head and muttered something inaudible.

There was a moment of silence before Brie continued the conversation.

"Either way, it's not my choice." She stated. "I'm not exactly looking forward to it."

Jojo picked up the pencil again.

_You'll do great_, he wrote. _You're fantastic at everything else, I doubt this will be any different._

She blushed, giving him a smile that made his stomach flip, while from the other side of the room, a pair of electric blue eyes observed it all.

--

Jojo scribbled rapidly on the paper, glancing up at the clock every so often. He didn't want to make Brie wait.

The aptitude test wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. It was mostly logic questions, which were easy enough, with a few subject questions thrown in. He had sped through the history ones--they were mostly about past mayors and their actions, and he knew almost all of them by heart before he even started school, having been raised in a house where bed time stories were about their fabulous deeds. The math he had no trouble with, his many years of calculating for his inventions serving him well, though he stumbled a bit in the literature section. Words were never his strong point.

Finishing the last question, he put down the his pencil to signal to Mrs. Snicklebee he had completed. Noticing the absence of his pencil scratching, she looked up from her paperwork to the small who, sitting at the edge of his seat waiting to be dismissed.

"Finished already?" She asked, surprise evident in her voice. "Very well. Here, take a sucker to go." Reluctantly taking a sweet from the bowl, Jojo proceeded to grab his bag from beside the chair before rushing towards the door.

"I'll let you know the results on Monday!" The principal shouted at his retreating form.

Meanwhile, Brie squirmed anxiously in her seat, the crowded music room doing nothing to help her nerves. Though tryouts were restricted to the sixth period music class, word had gotten around, and a small crowd had showed up to observe, support, and provide commentary on the auditioning whos. Just thinking about it made her stomach ache.

She tried to turn her attention to the front of the room where Lindsay stood, belting the lyrics to a pop song that Brie found faintly familiar. She wasn't half bad. Sure, her voice was a little nasally, and perhaps the high notes did threaten to shatter the windows, but she was clearly the best so far. Brie really didn't want to go after her.

It wasn't that she had never sung before, she sang around the house all the time, it was the fact that all these people would be here to watch--and judge--her that made her legs feel like pudding.

Lindsay's song came to an end and the room filled with applause, much to her delight.

"Thank you, thank you," she said, taking a few bows.

"Alright, Ms. Doyle, thank you for you're audition." Ms. Hapenshire cut in, her tone causing Lindsay to grudgingly leave the stage. "Last, but certainly not least, we have…Ms. Etherson! Come on up, Brie."

Brie got reluctantly to her feet and made her way to the front of the room.

"Whenever you're ready, dear."

She opened her mouth to begin, her stomach sinking as she realized she had completely blanked on the lyrics to her song. What song was she even supposed to be singing? Desperately, she wracked her brain for any sort of melody she could remember.

"Who knows how long I've loved you," she started shakily, the simple tune coming to her from the back of her mind, "You know I love you still. Will I wait a lonely lifetime? If you want me to, I will. Mmmm…"

The room was completely silent, all eyes on her. She took a deep breath and, squeezing her eyes shut, began the second verse.

_You know, if I ever saw you, I didn't catch your name…_

Jojo had just turned the corner when the sound made him stop in his tracks. It echoed through the hallway, rebounding off the ceiling and locker-lined walls, and drifted into his ears, it's muffled sweetness suddenly taking his breath away.

_But it never really mattered, I will always feel the same…_

He followed the sound, knowing where it would lead him before his feet even began to move. Placing one hand on the doorknob, he took a deep breath and entered the music room.

_Love you forever and forever, love you with all my heart,_

_Love you whenever we're together, love you when we're apart…_

There, at the front of the room, stood Brie, her eyes shut and a look of uncertainty on her face. Her voice, though soft, filled the room with it's sweet resonance, flowing warm and golden through the space like honey.

_And when at last I find you, your song will fill the air…_

The highest pitch of her voice was clear and crisp, like a ringing bell. It made Lindsay's screeches sound like Ms. Flitherby's laughter.

_Sing it loud so I can hear you, _

_Make it easy to be near you,_

_For the things you do, endear me to you,_

_Oh, you know I will, I will…_

She broke off from the lyrics, humming the tune softly before drifting off and, hesitantly, opening her eyes. She was greeted with dead silence, not sound escaped any who in the room. Her stomach sinking, she began to slowly edge her way towards her seat, embarrassment flooding through her, when the room suddenly broke into applause. She looked up, unmistakable astonishment in her eyes, a smile spreading slowly across her face.

Jojo laughed at her expression before joining the applause. She had no idea how amazing she had just sounded.

"Well done, Brie!" Mrs. Hapenshire said, smiling. "Well, that concludes auditions for today! I'll tell you all the winner on Monday. Have a great weekend!"

A great clammor arose as everyone began to gather their belongings and head for the door. Brie scanned the room, quickly spotting Lindsay brooding on the far side, near the window. She was about to join her when Jojo, waving by the door, caught her attention. Smiling she changed her direction and headed for him.

Lindsay watched silently as Brie turned from her and strode across to the other side of the room where Jojo waited for her, both of them grinning widely. She narrowed her eyes, before taking out her WhoPhone and snapping a picture of the two. She then sent a text message to Roger.

_Meet me at two tomarrow in town square, _it read. _Something needs to be done._

* * *

**Cliff hanger? just a little...**

**also, im going to post links on my page thing to all of the fan art and art trade art that people have done for my stories next time i get a chance, i love them all, thank you you guys!**

**Lastly, did i incorporate the song well? dont forget to let me know what you thought!**


	11. Schemes and Observations

**Yay, another chapter! i must warn you, this one is extremely fluffy, and very sweet (well, i think so anyways).**

**as always, let me know if you think there was too much fluff, or not enough...either way. i love input, as you know**

**enjoyyy!!**

**PS: The character Melody belongs to StarSongs (from deviantart dot com) :)**

* * *

Her voice echoed in his head as he walked down the crowded street towards her house, its timbre rising with the sound of children's laughter and harmonizing with the chatter of birds overhead.

Its lovely, ethereal tone had flowed into his ears over a day ago, yet still it's melody remained--sweet and honeyed as ever--sticking to his every thought. It had transformed his reoccurring nightmare into a pleasant dream; the cold, swirling mist changing to soft sunlit clouds, his once restricted lungs filling with fragrant air. The ever-present symphony that surrounded his existence now had a voice accompanying its every note--even the Symphonophone's trills and booms could not drown out its persistent song. He just couldn't get her voice out of his head.

And the strange thing was, he didn't mind one bit.

Something had clicked when he heard Brie sing yesterday afternoon-- it was as though he had been searching his entire life for the right sound, the perfect tone, and now he had finally found it. And suddenly everything had become clearer. There was a reason behind the warm feeling he would get when he heard her laugh, a cause for the somersaults his stomach would turn when she flashed him a smile. It was quite simple really, though it had seemed much more complex before yesterday. He liked Brie. He liked her a lot.

He shook his head as the thought passed through his mind, but a smile pulled at the corners of his mouth none the less. If he had the choice, he would never choose to like Brie-- nothing good could possibly come out of it. They had developed a friendship over the past week and a half, which was more than Jojo would have ever expected, and hoping for more would only lead to disappointment. As much as he hated to admit it, Roger had been right when he said that Brie could never care for someone like him, at least not in that way. Besides, she deserved so much better.

Unfortunately, he found he really had no say in the matter.

Sticking his hands in his pockets and shaking his hair out of his auburn eyes, he continued down the road, the sounds of the main square fading into the background as he reached her quiet street. It was 4:37pm on a Saturday, so most of Whoville's youth was lounging at the mall or playing by the town fountain, leaving Welphers Road to the older whos, who pattered with each other over their white wooden fences or watered their freshly mowed lawns, enjoying the quiet afternoon.

_Much too quiet_, he thought with a smile, _for what we need to do_.

Today they were going to test their instrument for the first time, and a quiet street was hardly the place to do it. Though he was fairly certain that all would go smoothly, as they had worked out what he thought was the last of the bugs yesterday, he could never be too sure, and the last thing they needed was an explosion on Welphers (even if it would be just a small one). So, he planned to take her to the only place where he felt comfortable making as much noise as he needed. The Observatory.

He was a little nervous of course, the last (and only) time someone other than himself had been in there was during the Horton Incident, and that had been his father. Then, the visit had been slightly rushed, so he hadn't really gotten a chance to see his fathers full impression, other than surprise. He wasn't sure how Brie would react…would she think he was weird, or see it as a waste of time? Would she laugh at him? He tried not to think about it, lest he change his mind about taking her. He just hoped that no matter what happened, that his secret haven would remain just that--a secret.

Sure, the entire town had heard his music last summer, but they hadn't really had a chance to figure out where it was coming from, what with all the chaos and impending doom hogging their attention. Jojo was perfectly fine with the fact that the origin of the life-saving symphony remained a mystery. He had had a difficult enough time convincing his father not to blow his secret to the town --he had been practically bursting with pride that his son's music had been the thing that saved the day-- and he hoped he wouldn't have as much trouble with Brie. He didn't think he would, he trusted her.

He pulled his mind back to the present as he approached her step, removing one hand from his pocket and knocking on her door. She answered right away, the large box she held practically knocking Jojo backwards as she made her way outside, shutting the door quickly behind her.

"Ready?" she asked eagerly, balancing impatiently on her toes as Jojo took a moment to regain his balance. He had hinted that they were going somewhere special, and she was obviously excited. He nodded in response, smiling at her enthusiasm. Taking the heavy box from her arms, he tilted his head in the direction they would be heading and began to lead the way.

--

Lindsay humphed in irritation as the numbers on her Whophone changed from 4:37 to 4:38. How dare he keep her waiting! She had already changed the meeting time from 2 to 4:30 so that he could fit it around his stupid football schedule, and yet he was _still_ almost ten minutes late. It was bad enough that she had to sit there on the cold cement fountain, the mist from the falling water threatening her perfect hair, but it was even worse that she had to sit there _alone_. If he kept her waiting much longer she was just gong to leave, and if he valued his social status, he did _not_ want that to happen. She rolled her electric blue eyes before lowering them back down to her phone to sent him a text telling him exactly that. She had was just about to hit send when someone cleared their throat to get her attention.

"About time," She said snootily, wrinkling her nose as her eyes fell on the condiment-burdened hotdog that rested in his hand. "What is _that_?"

"It's a hotdog…" Roger replied hesitantly, obviously confused by her apparent lack of food identification skills.

"I know _what_ it is," she shot back impatiently, "I _meant _why do you have it?"

"I got hungry," he shrugged as if his reason was obvious. "I stopped for a snack."

Lindsay glared at him for a moment, before coming to the conclusion that he was an imbecile, and therefore not fully accountable for being late. Taking a deep breath, she pushed forward.

"You do remember why we are here, right?" she continued, taking on the air of someone conducting business.

"Yeah, to talk about Brie."

"Right, Brie and that little _emo_ that she's been hanging out with."

Roger raised his eyebrow at her in confusion, then laughed, shaking his head.

"McDodd? I took care of him. We wont be seeing him around Brie anymore."

"Took care of him, huh? Then what is this all about?" Turning once again to her Whophone, she pressed a few buttons, calling up the picture she had snapped after the tryouts the day before. "I took this yesterday. I don't think you '_took care' _of anything."

Roger looked at the picture of the two smiling together, anger building up inside him. He growled, throwing the hotdog to the floor.

"Aw, MAN! I'm going to get that McDodd kid so bad--"

"No, your not." She calmly interrupted, standing up from her seat on the fountains edge and turning to face him head on. "We already tried your way, and that obviously didn't work. Now, we do it my way."

She glanced around briefly, making sure it was safe, before gesturing for him to bend down so she could whisper in his ear. Giving her a wary look, as though she might hurt him in some way if he got to close, he hesitantly lowered his ear to her level, his interest rising as he listened intently to her new scheme.

He smiled. Now _this_ was plan.

--

"…And _then_we had to go all the way to Whoomingdales, so she could get some shirt that she saw in a magazine…" Brie rolled her eyes in exasperation, giving Jojo a look that clearly said she had not enjoyed that excursion one bit. He laughed at her irritation, shaking his head.

"I don't know why you go along with her plans. You obviously don't like them."

"I _have_ to Jojo, you know that." He just shrugged, holding back his usual protests so that she could finish her story. She was telling him about her day at the mall with Lindsay, detailing exactly how boring and mind-numbing an experience it had been. It reminded him of his sisters stories, except he liked listening to hers much better.

"So while she was in Whoomingdales, I got…er…'_lost'_," she paused, putting air quotes around the words and giving him a sheepish grin, "and found myself in a music store. It was definitely the highlight of the trip. Oh, and I met this girl there, her name was Melody. She--" Brie paused, biting her lip to stop herself. She found that talking to Jojo was extremely easy, especially since he was such a good listener, and on occasion she had to catch herself before she told him _too _much. The conversation with Melody, for example, was not exactly something that he needed to hear.

She had come across the blue and white who in the Rock section, her gradually shaded hair catching Brie's attention. She had looked up from the CD she was glancing at and caught Brie's stare, giving her an odd look before smiling and holding out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Melody," She had said cheerfully, "You're….Brie, right?"

"Uh yeah," She had replied, surprised by her knowledge of her name. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"No," the girl had shrugged, turning back to her CD. "I've just seen you around school. You hang out with that Lindsay girl, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"And that Jojo kid. You're friends with him, too."

"Yeah--uh, I mean no. Um, well sort of yeah I guess…" She had been taken aback by the statement, not sure of how to respond. Of course she considered Jojo her friend, but Lindsay couldn't find that out--there was no telling what she would do!

Melody had given her another odd look, before shrugging her shoulders.

"Whatever you say. If it was up to me, I think I'd rather go with Jojo. Lindsay's just a little…you know?" She had flashed Brie a sour face.

"What do you mean?"

"Well there's the way she smells to begin with--"

"No, I meant what do you mean you'd 'rather be with Jojo'?"

"Oh, that. Well, you seemed like you were a little confused. You know, about like who your friends were and stuff. I just meant that if I were you, and I had to choose who my friends were, I would probably go with that Jojo kid. I mean, even if he doesn't talk, he's got to be better than that Lindsay's mindless droning." She looked up with a smile, her bright green eyes meeting Brie's confused, grey ones. Then, as she had misinterpreted the uncertainty she saw for something else, Melody's face had taken on a look of worry, .

"Not that I meant to offend you or anything," she had added on earnestly, "if Lindsay is your friend."

"No…no not at all."

"Good," Melody's smile had returned to her face, her eyes bright again. "Well, it was nice meeting you. Maybe I'll see you around at school some time."

"Yeah…" Brie had given her a weak smile as Melody walked away towards the counter to buy her CD, her mind whirring with their conversation the had just had.

Who _were_ her real friends?

"Are you ok?" Jojo's voice brought her out of her remembrance of the friendly, and surprisingly observant, Melody and back to the present. She looked over at him, his expression confused. She smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. So are we almost there?" she asked, changing the subject. She knew where they were going of course, but she had to keep up the ruse that she didn't know. She didn't want Jojo finding out that she had followed him…that would be embarrassing, to say the least.

"Almost…" He said, giving her one last curious look before turning back to the path they were walking on. "It's just around the corner."

Sure enough, as they turned the corner, the crumbling staircase came into view. Jojo shifted the box so that he held its weight with one arm before bending down to scoop up the stone that he had been kicking along the path. It was a moment before he noticed that he no longer heard Brie's footsteps following behind him. He turned to see her standing in the middle of the path, looking apprehensively at the gizmo they were going to ride.

The daylight made the mobile look a lot less magical and a lot more…scary.

"What?" Jojo asked, walking back over to her. "Is something wrong?"

"You…you built that, yes?"

"Yes…"

"And, it's safe…right?"

"Of course it's safe." She gave him a disbelieving look. "Would I take you on something that wasn't?"

"No…."

"Then come on," he said, shoving the stone in his pocket and taking her hand. He began to slowly lead her up the staircase, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze every so often. "You'll be fine, I promise."

Brie hesitantly got into the bucket, Jojo following after. He managed to open the umbrella with one hand and, as it caught the wind, they began to glide through the air. After a moment he handed Brie the umbrella, before pulling the stone out of his pocket and dropping it on a bolder as they passed.

_So that's what that's fo_--

Brie gasped, grabbing the edge of the bucket as it was pulled sharply upward. They came to a stop next to another cliff edge, and Jojo jumped out, set down the box, then turned around to help her out.

"That was a little terrifying." She said, getting out and following him down another path. He laughed nervously.

"What?"

"It's just, if you thought _that_ was terrifying…your not going to like this."

Her breath caught as she saw their next form of transportation. A long plank stretched out over the edge of the cliff, a broken bit of staircase acting as its anchor. A long loop of rubber hung from two poles and extended back along the plank, coming to rest near the edge, where an odd looking lever stuck up.

"That's funny," she said, her voice a little too high, "that looks kind of like a…a…"

"A slingshot?" He supplied.

"No, no, no, no, no…." She began backing away from the device, and Jojo reached out and grabbed her hand again to stop her from backing off the edge of the cliff. "Are you insane? That can't be safe! Look at it! Jojo, there is no way I'm getting on that!"

"Ok," he said, "You can always just take the bucket back down by yourself…."

She glared at him, and he looked innocently back.

"I swear Jojo, if I die…"

"I'll pay for your funeral."

"Ha ha, your _so_ hilarious."

Removing what looked like a unicycle from the mouth of the contraption, he stepped confidently onto the plank, pulling the terrified Brie after him. He lifted the red band and put it around his waist, walking backward until the rubber stretched tautly. All the while Brie held his hand tightly, willing her legs to move toward him instead of running in the opposite direction like they yearned to.

Jojo gestured for her to move close to him, hoping that she wouldn't notice the red tint his face suddenly assumed. She obeyed, still squeezing his hand tightly.

"I'm going to need that…" he said, glancing down at his hand.

"Oh, s-sorry." She released it, smiling sheepishly as he flexed his fingers a few times to return the blood flow. She had quite a grip.

Reaching around her, he grasped the lever's handle firmly and turned to look at Brie's anxious face.

"On the count of three, ok?" She nodded, slipping her hand around his waist and closing her eyes, causing his face to blush deeper. "One, two…three."

He pulled the lever, causing the plank to drop suddenly and the elastic band to be released, vaulting the two whos into the air.

The scream that Brie was ready to release was lost as the onslaught of air wooshed into her lungs. She gasped, holding tighter to Jojo and squeezing her eyes shut tight against the wind. She felt his arm wrap protectively around her just before the upward acceleration stopped, leaving them momentarily motionless in the air, before he gently tugged her forward and her feet touched the solid rock of the staircase.

"That wasn't so bad, right?" he asked, smiling as she opened her eyes. He grew more concerned when she didn't answer. "Are you ok?"

"Y-you're _insane_," she answered in a small voice, her legs wobbling slightly beneath her. He smiled, helping her up the remaining stairs and through a hidden door into the dark observatory.

"Wait here," he said, leaving her and the box next to a wall before disappearing into the darkness. She leaned against it, willing her heart to slow to a normal beat and her legs to take on a more sturdy feel than jello.

"Jojo?" she called out.

A faint metallic grinding met her ears as suddenly an unseen skylight was opened, the golden shafts of light that cut through the velvety darkness allowing Brie to view her surroundings. Her jaw dropped in astonishment and, forgetting her previous fears, she moved away from the wall and into the sunlit room.

Her imaginings of Jojo's secret place withered in the shadow of it's reality, they had in no way prepared her for what she now faced. The grey stone archway she had been standing in gave way to a room that must have inhabited the whole interior of the observatory, it's vaulted walls stretching unbelievably high above her head. They were covered from floor to ceiling in a mass of twisting shadows which, as lights clanked on and illuminated them, were revealed to be gadgets of all shapes and sizes, their colors filling the room with a vibrant aura. Shining horns curled out from behind massive drums, the ceiling dripped bells and brass cymbals, shimmering chimes twisted every which way, instruments she couldn't even begin to name wrapped around the walls and, though all of their massive gears and minute springs were stationary, the room suddenly felt as though it were alive.

She spotted Jojo, walking toward her from behind what looked like a giant bagpipe. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets and a look of nervous uncertainty on his face.

"Well," he said, glancing around the room with a shrug, "This is it."

Brie just shook her head, unable to find words in the chaotic mess of her thoughts. He looked down at his feet, a blush appearing on his face.

"I know its not much, but…"

"Not _much_?" His ridiculous understatement shocked her back into speech. "Jojo, this is the most amazing thing I have ever seen! You built all this? By yourself? _Alone_?"

He looked up at her face, as if checking to see if she was messing with him.

"Well, um, yeah, I did…Do you really like it?"

"Of course!" She smiled again at his modesty, before wandering down a staircase and further exploring the room. Jojo followed her, still slightly diffident about his creation.

"Are they all instruments?"

"Well, their sort of all one big instrument," he answered, his confidence growing slightly along with his smile, now that he was fairly certain she wasn't going to laugh at him. "It's kind of a work in progress. I call it the Symphonophone."

"Symphonophone…" she repeated, running her hand along the tight face of a giant drum. Jojo climbed up onto it, bouncing a few times before turning and offering her his hand.

"Want a tour?"

She smiled and put her hand in his. Now _this_ was what she called an excursion.

--

The tour had lasted almost two hours, yet still much of the room was left unexplored. It was only after Jojo repeatedly promised that he would bring her there again that he was able to pry her away from the multitudes of gadgets and back to her own project.

"It seems a waste," she said wistfully as she made her way back up the staircase towards the entrance, "that we spend our time with that dinky thing when we could just bring this to the concert." She threw her arms out wide to illustrate her point.

"I don't think this would fit in the concert hall," he said, smiling. "Besides, I like our instrument."

"You like _every_ instrument," she retorted.

"True…"

They reached the archway where the large box sat awaiting them. Jojo approached it and removed the lid, lifting from it a box only slightly smaller than the first, this one made of wood. Two cranks protruded from opposite sides of the vessel, making it look like a hybrid Jack-in-the-Box.

"Ready to try it out?" Brie smiled and positioned herself beside one crank, before looking to Jojo, who nodded and moved to the other.

"Ok, on the count of three," she said, echoing his words from before. "One, two, three…GO!" The two whos began to simultaneously turn the cranks, causing a mechanical click to emanate from the box as gears began to turn. It vibrated softly, a soft clank resounding from within as a cog caught the latch and the lid of the box began to slowly open. An array of horns rose from inside, each beginning to play the sweet melody that Ms. Hapenshire had played a week earlier on her strange piano. A small mallet with a padded head followed, rotating slightly before rocking back an forth towards the open lid, banging a beat against its wood surface, while chimes rang cheerily as the umbrella skeleton that they hung from, which had also risen and unfolded from within, began to spin at an even rate.

"It works!" Brie shouted over the music, which was surprisingly loud. Jojo laughed.

"Not so dinky now, huh?"

The song continued, eventually coming to a close as they slowed the cranks. As the music stopped, they cranked gradually in the other direction, causing the many appendages to retract back into the box, the lid closing after them with a final thump.

"Wow," Brie said, slightly breathless from the effort, as she backed away from the device and examining it from a distance with an astonished expression on her face. "I can't believe we made that."

Jojo came to stand next to her, admiring their handiwork with a critical eye.

"What? What's wrong with it?" She asked, catching his expression.

"One of the horns was off key…"

"I didn't here anything, I thought it sounded fine." He made a face.

"Come on, would you just be proud of yourself for once? You're amazing! Look at what you made!" She gestured back to Symphonophone behind them, but Jojo only blushed and shook his head as if to say it wasn't anything big.

"You really are ridiculous some times," she said, shaking her head at him, but smiling nonetheless.

"Come on," Jojo said, taking note of the quickly dimming light coming in from the window overhead. "There's something I want to show you before we leave."

"Sure, change the subject…" She muttered audibly, following him back down the stairs. He lead her to a makeshift elevator, comprised of a bright red bucket suspended by a cable cord and attached to another lever. After much persuasion on his part, he helped her up into it before jumping in after her and pulling the lever, causing them to rise rapidly and come to a stop at an elevated platform that held only a giant gear.

"Come on," he said, climbing out and walking across the platform. She followed, watching as he jumped up and grabbed a handle that protruded from the gear, his weight causing the entire thing to rotate into motion. Suddenly, the wall in front of them began to move, separating into two parts which slid away from each other, revealing a magnificent view of whoville, it's curving white houses stretching far back into the distance and meeting the horizon in an explosion of vivid color as the sunset sent a warm, orange glow over the entire town. The sky, like a backdrop to a painting of a dream, was a blend of oranges, reds, pinks, and blues, fading into the darkness above where the first stars where beginning to wink down upon them.

"Nice view, huh?" Jojo said, moving next to Brie, where she stood at the edge of the platform.

"Jojo," She replied, awe reducing her voice to no more than a whisper, "It's beautiful."

He smiled, watching her face in the warm glow of the sunset while thinking to himself,

_Yeah, it really is._

* * *

**I know, i know, a little fluffy and very cliche, but i just couldn't help myself :D**

**again, i dont own Melody, she belongs to StarSongs on Deviant Art**

**Let me know what you thought!**


	12. Wrong, Jojo

**Ok, so after much deliberation, i decided to split the one GYNORMOUSLY large chapter that this had become into two, decent sized chapters. I will post the next chapter either tomorrow or the day after (most likely tomorrow) I like the next chapter MUCH better than this one, in fact i dont really like this one that much, but w/e i figured id made you all wait long enough lol**

**Also, there are limited chapters remaining in this story...probably about one or two at the most (not counting the next one) i feel like its the end of an era! so sad. **

**oh well, thats what sequals are for, right? :)**

**OH YA and thank you to all of you who participated in the poll about Brie's voice! unfortunately i had insuficient votes to determine a winner, so i will post another, FINALISTS poll on my page, if you dont mind voting one more time to help pick a definate winner! thank you!**

**well, go ahead and read the next chapter, and REMEMBER ALL OF YOU REMEMBER i STILL appreciate ALL comments whether they are good, bad, hate, or love! so dont hesitate to tell me how you feel about the chatper! (i have my reasons...you'll see.)**

**Well, enjoy...**

* * *

Something was definitely wrong. He just had that feeling.

To start with, Jojo was currently sitting outside the principals office, having been called there out of first period, but he had no clue what he had done. He suspected Lindsay might have something to do with it…but he didn't want to jump to conclusions. She was Brie's friend after all, even if she was the foulest creature to ever walk the earth.

That was the other problem. Brie.

He had spent all of Saturday with her, and it had been the best day he had had in a long time. She had marveled at all of his instruments, much to his embarrassed pleasure, and she had even offered to help him with his speech, which made the prospects of presenting it a little less daunting. The only thing that was out of the ordinary had happened as he told her goodbye.

He had walked her to her house, making sure she got home safely, and had mentioned something about seeing her on Monday. She had smiled at him, but not returned his farewell, and something about her expression had been oddly unsettling, as if she wasn't sure if it was true…

Other than that, nothing bad had happened, and that was exactly the problem. Things were too nice. Too perfect. Too right.

When he was with Brie, he had no need to suppress the arbitrary pangs of loneliness that used to occasionally surface themselves, because they were no longer existent. He was her friend, and she was almost certainly his, and though emotions begged otherwise, he never let himself even dream of having anything more. But he didn't need anything more, as along as she was there.

But how long would it last?

Jojo may have been in all of the lowest classes, but he certainly was not dumb. Nor was he blind. It was clear that Brie was much to popular, among other things, to be friends with someone like him, so there always remained that small but nagging feeling….

Something was definitely wrong, because reason just didn't allow for things to be so totally and completely right.

"Mr. McDodd? You can come in now."

Jojo jumped as the voice startled him out of his musings._Well_, he thought to himself as he rose and slid into the room, _here we go…_

Taking his usual position in one of the engulfing chairs, he braced himself for the worst.

"I bet your wondering why I have you in here!" Mrs. Snicklebee squeaked at him as he fought against his chairs attempts to devour him. He didn't respond. "I called you in because the results to your aptitude test have come hack, and they are quite surprising!"

No response.

"Ehem," She cleared her throat to fill the awkward silence--apparently she was expecting a more enthusiastic response. Not likely. "Well, what that means, is that you will be switched immediately out of all our lower level classes, which are clearly to simple for a mind such as yours, and instead you will be taking all advanced courses. Now the homework load will increase slightly, I wont lie to you, but--"

She paused as Jojo finally gave her a reaction, though it was not the one she was looking for. He was shaking his head rapidly, his eyes wide and pleading.

"Now, Jojo, it wont be that bad. Besides, it will be good for you to finally have a challenge." She frowned as he continued his silent pleas.

"I wont take no for an answer," she concluded sternly. "I've already made your new schedule, you can pick it up at counseling on your way out. Now, off to class, don't want to miss too much!"

Clearly she had had enough of their conversation, seeing as she proceeded to hop down from her throne of books and rush Jojo out the door before he could make anymore protests, shoving a sucker in his hand before closing the door in his face. He had no choice but to collect his new, advanced, and completely horrid schedule and wander towards what he was sure would be his doom, depositing the sucker in a trash can on the way.

--

"…the value of f-of-x is equal to four. Any questions?"

Jojo stepped timidly into the room, cringing as he felt the class's gaze shift collectively to himself.

The teacher (Mr. Whilmstock, the schedule had said) also felt the change, for he looked up from the board on which he was writing and too examined the small who.

"Can I help you?"

Jojo stumbled forward, eliciting a few chuckles from the front row, and handed Mr. Whilmstock his schedule, hoping that that would be explanation enough.

"Ah…a new student. What math have you taken? Algebra II? Pre-calculus?"

"Just algebra." he muttered, which caused the teacher's eyebrows to raise and his face to take on a more intrigued expression.

"You've never taken geometry? Or pre-calculus? Interesting…very interesting…" he muttered more to himself than to Jojo. "They must have a very good reason for putting you in here then. Very well," His voice took on the normal volume and he pointed a rather boney arm towards an empty seat in the middle of the room.

"You can sit there, by Brie. The one with the violet hair."

She looked up at her name, and Jojo's mood perceivable brightened as he began to make his way towards her . He's forgotten she was in all advanced, perhaps his new classes wouldn't be so bad after all…

He dropped his schedule onto his desk, and sank into a seat, flashing her a small smile as he did so.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered to him, her tone odd…off somehow. It wasn't the usual friendly greeting that he got from her.

He reached across the isle to her desk and grabbed her notebook, tearing a piece out and writing down his reply.

_They forced me to switch into all advanced classes. _

He braced himself once again as he passed the note to her, this time for the onslaught of praise that was sure to come for finally ditching his "dumb classes," as she called them. He was slightly taken aback, however, when her face didn't brighten as he expected it would, but instead fell in what could only be disappointment.

"Let me see your schedule," she hissed, grabbing it off his desk before he had the chance to hand it to her. She glanced over it quickly, before shoving it back to him and groaning quietly, rubbing her temples like she always did when something was irritating her.

But what could be so irritating about his schedule? He thought she'd be happy that they would have all their classes together n--

_Oh. _His stomach sank a little as the thought crossed his mind. Perhaps she was irritated for that very reason, and maybe, just maybe, she had finally come to realize what Jojo had known all along. That she was much, much to good for him.

_No, I'm just being paranoid. It's probably just another thing with Lindsay or something_, he assured himself, taking the note paper off her desk and writing her another message. _. _

_Is something wrong? _He wrote. He put the paper back on her desk, not failing to notice the angered expression her face held as she glared at the front of the room.

_No nothings wrong_. She had practically punched a hole through the paper, she was pushing the pen down so hard.

_If nothings wrong, then why are you glaring at Mr. Whilstock like your trying to blow his head up with your mind? _Maybe if he could get her to laugh, just one smile…

_Shut up, Jojo, _was her response. His stomach sank a little more.

_Did something happen with Lindsay? _He asked, dreading the answer. She began to drum her fingers on the desk in an annoyed way, as if his ridiculous questions were only making things worse.

_Everything's fine with Lindsay. Just leave me alone._

Oh. So then it _was _him. He didn't try to push the matter, but instead he preoccupied himself with pondering ways to take back whatever he had done to make her this angry, stealing glances at her every so often.

Her expression didn't change.

When the bell rang she was out of the door before he could even stand, not looking back once.

_What did I do?_

--

Sixth period was even worse. They had to sit next to each other again, as today was the day that everyone brought in their finished instruments for inspection. Their creation sat between them, a wall that didn't do anything to deflect the uncomfortable tension that radiated from her.

He barely even heard Ms. Hapenshire's enthusiastic praise when their turn came for inspection.

"Alright class!" Ms. Hapenshire called from the front of the room, having finished her rounds. "It's time to announce the winner of the singing competition!"

Jojo tore his gaze away from Brie and turned instead to face his teacher. He was one hundred percent sure that Brie had won-- maybe this would be the thing that would make her forget her anger…at least long enough for him to figure out his mistake.

"The winner, and singer for our class in the Whoville Symphony Orchestra's presentation of 'Harmony of Whoville' is…" Ms. Hapenshire paused for dramatic effect, grinning madly at the class. "Brie Etherson!"

The room exploded in congratulations, and in what must have been shock, Brie turned to look at him. He smiled at her, her expression of total and complete surprise almost making him laugh.

But then she turned away, leaving his smile unreturned, and his stomach dropped again.

"Alright, alright, calm down everyone." Ms. Hapenshire called over the sudden burst of muttering that filled the room. "Brie, that means you and your partner's instrument will have to be run by only one person, since you will be at the front singing."

Brie smiled at her, and Jojo was to distracted to see whether it was genuine or not. He was thinking about what he could do, what he could say to make it right. The bell rang and he began putting his scattered items back into his bag, not registering the quickly emptying room until only he and Brie remained.

"Jojo? I need to talk to you."

His heart skipped a beat, hope flooding him, before almost stopping completely as he turned to see her stony expression. _We need to talk_. Were those not the four most dreaded words known to who kind?

"I've really been thinking lately, and…well…things, with us…their just not working out."

He froze, all the words he had been prepared to say leaving his mind as the impact of hers knocked the wind from his lungs.

"I mean, its been fun and everything, but come one, you have to admit that there's no way it could last. I mean, look who my friends are, and well, look at your situation..."

The room felt like it was spinning. He searched her face for any sign that she was lying, joking, anything, but her steely expression held fast. She continued in an emotionless voice, as if she were simply stating the facts, and felt no effect by them at all herself.

"But that's not the only issue, I wish it was, but…well, its only fair that you know the truth. It's you. Your just too different. I mean, really, how do you expect to get any friends when your like that? Jojo, the fact of the matter is, your just…" She paused, glancing away as if she were searching for the right word to use. When she found it, she turned back to face him, her grey eyes as cold as ice, and her voice filled with disgust. "…disappointing."

She might as well have stabbed him straight through the chest, for all the pain her words had caused him. His heart ached, every inch of him stung with the impact of her words. _Disappointing_. So he had been right all along. He just wasn't good enough.

"Well, hope there's no hard feelings…See ya around." She turned and walked calmly from the room, leaving him to stand there in his shock and pain.

He wasn't sure how long it took before he regained the ability to move. Minutes, hours, who really cared anymore? Nothing mattered, because everything was gone.

That night, he went to the observatory as he always did, but this time he did not begin to build. Instead he set everything loose, the music reaching deafening heights. He smashed drums, slammed cymbals--anything that would make noise, did--and the sound rose into the night, calling out for him what words could not.

But, as always, he couldn't drown out her voice, echoing in his ears.

_Disappointing._


	13. Wrong, Brie

**Ok so here is the next chapter, hope you like it better than the last one ( i certainly do)**

**i actually wrote this part first, and then Jojo's part (the last chapter) came after it, but i decided to separate and flip them becuase i figured if im going to be evil, i might as well be COMPLETELY evil lol**

**Oh and just so you know, this takes place on the same day as the last chapter. so dont be too confused. **

**enjoy, and dont forget, i love reviews! (hint hint)**

___"Jojo?"_

_They were walking back from the observatory, having spent the day perfecting their already perfect invention (it was flawless at least in Brie's eyes, Jojo seemed to always find a problem with the pitch). The sun had already set and the cool breeze whistled through the grass, trilling a tune to accompany the crickets' screeching violins, the two who's footsteps setting the rhythmic tempo. Until this moment, they had both been silent--Jojo no doubt was reveling in the tranquil symphony that surrounded them, while she herself had barely heard it, so occupied was she by the single question she had been pondering, and who's answer seemed to continually evade her. Her curiosity had finally driven her to break the silence. _

_"Jojo, can I ask you something?"_

_He glanced up at her, not at all perturbed by the disruption, and nodded once to show that he was listening. _

_"Why don't you ever talk to people? Like, at our school?"_

_It was true that though his social standing was minimal to say the least, his personality was in no short supply. Though he rarely spoke, she found that he was always saying something, his expressions as communicative as any articulation. When he did speak, however, she was always drawn back into the wonderment of how someone with such a great personality could have so little friends. She had eventually come to the conclusion that their classmates were simply too inobservant to notice his silent but expressive demeanor, and that if he would only speak, they would see what an amazing who he was. What she couldn't conclude, however, was what stopped him from doing so. _

_He merely shrugged in reply._

_"I really think they'd love you," she continued, urging him to answer._

_"I have nothing to say to them."_

_She scoffed at that, throwing him a disbelieving look. _

_"What? I don't."_

_"You have everything to say to them! Look at the observatory, its filled with things that you want to say. All those instruments, that music, its saying so much, yet you keep it hidden. You have things to say, you just don't say them, and I cant figure out why."_

_He grew silent for a moment, as if trying himself to discover the answer. After a moment, he muttered a quiet reply._

_"Maybe they're just not listening."_

_"They might listen," she responded softly, "if you gave them something to listen to."_

_He shrugged and slumped his shoulders, shoving his hands into his pockets. _

_"They'll have their chance soon enough." _

_"What do you mean?"_

_He shrugged again, kicking a pebble down the path. He had assumed a rather troubled expression, his brow knit together and his eyes downcast. _

_"Jojo?"_

_He glanced at her face, as if deliberating whether or not he could trust her to understand. Something in her expression must have convinced him, however, because after a moment he sighed as if in defeat._

_"Have you heard about the case that's in Who Court right now?" he asked. "The one about a law alteration?"_

_She nodded. Her mother was involved in politics, and often brought her work home with her, so Brie was more informed than the average who teen when it came to the governmental goings-on. _

_"Well, that's because of me." His voice was oddly heavy, as if weighted down by something. "My dad is trying to change the law that says the oldest child of the Mayor has to take up his parent's position."_

_"You…don't want to be mayor?"_

_He shook his head and looked at her adamantly. _

_"But, what does that have to do with you speaking to people? If your father gets the law changed, then you wont have to. What's the problem?"_

_"Its not that easy. The Court isn't to taken with the idea of changing a centuries old tradition, and my dad is having some trouble convincing them. So, he thought it would be a good idea if at the next hearing--" He swallowed, his face paling slightly. "--I gave a speech in front of the Court saying why I should get to 'abdicate the mayoral position.'"_

_"The entire Court?"_

_He nodded, dread etched into his features. He looked straight ahead, his eyes wide and staring as if he could imagine the horror already. _

_"That's….not that bad," she said, attempting to make her voice light. He gave her an incredulous look. "Really! I think you can do it. I mean, I've heard you talk about music and how you feel about it, its hard_ not _to understand why you obviously should be doing that instead of running Whoville. You just have to let the Court see that."_

_His look did not falter. _

"_Okay, okay, maybe it is a little scary," she finally conceded after a moment of his intense glare. She bit her lip, trying to find some way to make the situation better for him. She honestly believed that he could do it without a problem, he just needed a little confidence. _

"_I'll tell you what," she said, "What if I help you write your speech? We could write it together and then you can practice saying it to me, so that way you wont be nervous when you have to actually do it. I'll even come to the hearing…as long as it doesn't make you more nervous."_

_Jojo stared silently at the ground, his expression unreadable for once._

"_You…you would do that?" His voice was barely audible over the wind._

_She smiled. "Of course. So is that a yes?"_

_He returned her smile, causing her heart to flutter. She would help him get through this, and then people would see him for who he was-- not the mayors son, but Jojo. Just Jojo. _

"BRIE!"

She jumped, her mind snapping out of the daydream of Saturday night's walk and back into the present. She focused on the irritated who in front of her, her grey eyes looking timidly into the glaring electric blue.

"What, are you deaf? I said your name three times! Where you even listening to what I was telling you?" Lindsay tapped her foot impatiently, her hands resting on her hips and her head tilted in a menacing way.

"Of--of course I was listening! I heard every word."

"Right. What did I say?"

Brie bit her lip, desperately trying to find a way out of the trouble she was falling face first into. Trying, and failing.

"That's what I thought." Lindsay paused and stood up straighter, the her irritated expression quickly hardening into seriousness. Great, that was a sign that she meant business. "Brie, you have been really distracted lately, and it is just not working out. Don't think I don't know about your _distractions _either…or should I say distraction?"

Brie's eyes widened, her mind flashing instantly to Jojo. She couldn't be talking about him…could she? Lindsay's eyes narrowed at the unwilling comprehension dawning on Brie's face.

"Deal with it," she said, leaning in so that only they could hear, "or I will."

The bell rang, and Lindsay fell back into her normal, peppy personality as a group of jocks, led by Dave and Roger, passed by on their way into the main building.

"Come on, Brie!" she called in a voice that on the surface seemed friendly, but carried a sharp edge. "Lets walk with these guys, okay?"

Brie let herself be swept into the crowded hallway, barely even noticing when Roger pushed wimpy looking freshman out of the way so that he would be walking next to her. Caring was beyond her, she was to preoccupied with Lindsay's words.

_Deal with it, or I will._

--

"…and so, if we use the Exponential Rule here, the derivative of this function is clearly equivalent to g-of-x, minus two…"

_Homework. That's probably it. I'm just not hanging out with her enough. I've been distracted because of homework…_

"…and in solving this we find that x to the power of three is equal to 125, and so therefore x is equal to 5..."

_Or Roger. Roger is definitely a distraction. But no, she _wants_ me to be distracted by Roger…_

"…and in plugging this value into the function h-of-x, we find that the value to also be 5..."

_She couldn't possibly have been talking about him. That's ridiculous. There's no way she would know that we're becoming…friends…_

"…so, since g-of-x is equal to h-of-x, f-of-x must be a positive, whole number between the values 2 and 5..."

…_Oh, who am I kidding. Of course she's talking about Jojo. But what do I do? I don't want him to get hurt again, and there's no telling what Lindsay will do…she's probably capable of complete destruction if she set her mind to it…_

"…and we can further conclude, through the process of elimination, that the value of f-of-x is equal to 4. Any questions?"

_What do I do?_

Brie buried her face in her arms, and groaned quietly. If only Mr. Whilmstock would just be quiet for five minutes, then maybe her thoughts wouldn't be so jumbled. Even now he was droning on about some derivative or theorem or some other unimportant bit of math. When did people ever use this in real life? Never, that's when.

"…pre-calculus?" His tone had changed, and he was muttering incoherently to himself. "Interesting…very interesting…"

Further proof that he was not thinking straight--there was absolutely nothing interesting about pre-calculus. Or calculus, for that matter. Why couldn't he realize that and just _stop talking_?

"…Brie. The one with the violet hair."

Her head shot up at the mentioning of her name, her face automatically assuming that of mild interest and full attention. She quickly scanned the board for whatever it was that she was supposed to answer, only to find that Mr. Whilmstock wasn't asking a question, but merely using her as a landmark for the empty seat that idled next to her. His thin, spindly arm was outstretched as he pointed in that very direction, clearly showing the way for some new addition to the class. But exactly who was this new student…

"Jojo!" She said the name in surprise as her eyes fell upon the small grey and black who who was making his way to the empty chair. He gave her a small smile as he fell into the seat, already forgotten by Mr. Whilmstock, who had already resumed his monotonous lecture.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in a whisper.

He reached across the isle, grabbing her notebook and tearing out an empty page before pulling out a pen and scribbling his reply.

_They forced me to switch into all advanced classes._

Brie's stomach dropped. All advanced? _She _was in all advanced. That means that they would most likely have the exact same schedule, a development that did nothing to help matters with Lindsay.

"Let me see your schedule," she hissed, snatching the paper off his desk and scanning it quickly. Yep. Every class except fifth period study hall was now exactly the same as hers. Fantastic.

She put the paper on her desk and slouched back into her chair, massaging her temples as she did so in an attempt to keep the threatening headache at bay.

Jojo slipped the torn notebook paper back onto her desk-- she hadn't even noticed him take it.

_Is something wrong?_

_No, nothings wrong_, she scribbled back, pushing the pen to the paper a little harder than necessary. There was no point in telling him, he would only pester her again about her apparent inability to say no to Lindsay, and she was _not_ in the mood for that. She didn't look at him as he slid the paper back to her.

_If nothings wrong, then why are you glaring at Mr. Whilstock like your trying to blow his head up with your mind?_

_Shut up, Jojo._

_Did something happen with Lindsay?_

Damn it. She drummed her fingers on the desk in an irritated way. Why did he always have to be so freaking insightful?

_Everything's fine with Lindsay. Just leave me alone._

And surprisingly, he did. No return note came, he merely sat in silence the rest of the period, staring blankly at the front of the room He didn't even look at her.

When the bell for fifth period rang, she rose from her seat and sped for the door without looking back, all the while praying that he wouldn't follow her. Right now, distance was best. You never knew who could be watching.

--

Lindsay giggled, flipping her hair and glancing up at him through her eyelashes in the way that made the guys practically melt into her arms. "Dave, I'll see you later, ok?"

"Yeah, see ya Lindsay."

She turned and walked into the lunch room, feeling his eyes follow her a she left the hall. Perfect, he was falling for her as easily as if she had tripped him. He'd be hers soon enough.

For now, however, she had more important things to deal with. Best friends always come before boyfriends, after all.

As if on cue, a very agitated looking Brie came rushing through the doors, making a beeline for Lindsay as soon as she caught sight of her. Her grey eyes were clouded when she came up to greet her-- her mind was obviously elsewhere. Hm. That wouldn't do. Clearly, she hadn't emphasized her point enough this morning.

"Hey, Lindsay." She was slightly out of breath, but it sounded more like it was from exasperation that the speedy stride she had been employing.

"Heeeyyy Brie," Lindsay gave her a serene smile and tilted her head in the direction of a table, indicating where they were to sit for that day. They made their way toward the table at a leisurely pace, Brie glancing discretely at the lunchroom door every few seconds, and Lindsay pretending not to notice.

"So…how's that thing that we discussed this morning working out?"

Brie tripped slightly but managed to compose herself relatively well before continuing.

"Wha? Oh that…you know it really wasn't a big deal to begin, its not like we're…um…yeah, its taken care of." Brie bit her lip to stop the incessant babbling that was flowing from her.

"Is it now?" Lindsay raised one eyebrow, giving Brie a look that showed interest…with a hint of doubt. "And how exactly did you do that?"

"Um…"

"Brie…you're not lying to me are you?"

"No!"

"I don't like being lied to, Brie. _Lisa Marie _never lies to me."

"Neither do I!" she stuttered out instantly, much to Lindsay's delight. It amused her how easily she could form people to her will. You just had to know their weaknesses. She suppressed a smile as Brie continued to defend herself. "I'm your best friend, Lindsay! You know I wouldn't do that to you! And besides, even if I didn't exactly _do_ anything to…erm…deal with it…it wouldn't make a difference because there's nothing to deal with! Really!"

"But that's just the thing, Brie, there _is_ something to deal with. You're my best friend, and I'm worried about what _he_ is doing to our relationship!" She paused, looking away and sniffling slightly for dramatic effect. "I have lots of friends, Brie, you know that. But I choose you as my best friend because I thought you of all people would always put friendship before boys--"

"It's not like that, Linds!"

"Sure. That's why you've been spending all your time with him, totally ditching me without even thinking about it! It hurts, Brie! I thought you were different from all the other girls, that you would put our friendship first over everything--"

"I would!"

"Then prove it." They had reached the table, but neither sat down. "Prove to me that our friendship isn't just some useless thing you would throw away the minute something more attractive waltzes by!"

Brie was silent, conflict clearly outlined in her features.

_This is it_, Lindsay thought, _this is the point that decides whether or not I have to get a new BFF. I really hope I don't…its such a bother to have to get the new ones going--_

"Ok." Her reply was quiet, almost forced, as if a part of her regretted her words. "Fine. I'll prove it. Tell me what you want me to do."

"I knew you're priorities were straight." Lindsay flashed her a grin before pulling her features once again into complete and total seriousness. "I want you to make sure he never speaks to you again. I don't care how you do it, but do it right. I don't want him following us around like a lost puppy after you've done it. Oh, and be sure to leave me out of it, I do have my reputation to think of you know!" She patted Brie on the shoulder and took a seat at the quickly filling table. "And remember," she added as an afterthought, "no matter how much you hurt him, keep in mind, I can always hurt him worse if you fail."

She turned her back to Brie, facing instead the lunch table and its various occupants. "You sitting down or what?" she asked without looking back, all seriousness gone from her voice.

"I…have to…bathroom…" she hear her mutter before turning on her heel and rushing straight for the doors.

_Weird_, Lindsay thought absently, smiling at Dave as he took Brie's empty seat. _She didn't seem like she wasn't feeling well…_

--

Brie stared hatefully into the grey eyes behind the glass, and they stared back with the same fervor.

_How can you do this? To yourself? To _him_? _They narrowed accusingly.

"I have no choice," she whispered back, and the hate faded, to be replaced by despair.

Everything that she had worked for….everything she had known…everything that had been her everything for six odd years was at stake here…and (as much as she hated to admit it) Lindsay was right. She couldn't just throw that all away because something more appealing showed up, no matter how appealing that something was. That wasn't the _responsible_ thing to do. She had fought so hard for this, and now that she finally had it, it was ridiculous to even consider leaving it behind for some who.

_But that's the thing_, she thought. _This isn't just _some who.

This was Jojo.

She shook her head. Thinking about him at this point was a mistake, she might chicken out and ruin everything. Besides, if he really was so fantastic, all the more reason to do what she had to do. Like Lindsay said, no matter how much she hurt Jojo, Lindsay could always hurt him more.

For his sake, she would have to do this. But what would she say?

The face in the mirror paled as she realized the one thing she could say, the thing that would make sure he wouldn't try to amend things. The worst she could do.

She spun away from the sink and flew into a stall, not even bothering to shut the door behind herself as she knelt in front of the porcelain rim. A small part of her cringed at the small distance that was between her face and a revolting school toilet.

Not that it mattered. Nothing really mattered anymore…the only important thing was the horrible, horrible fact was she knew what she had to do.

And even worse…she knew she was going to do it.

--

Sixth period came too quickly. She had spent all of her fifth period support planning out exactly what she was going to do, practicing it in her mind and making it real.

And now, it was almost time.

Ms. Hapenshire was walking around the room, examining each and every instrument and the progress that had been made, giving critique or praise every so often as she saw fit. When she reached Jojo and Brie's invention, which currently sat between them on his desk, she gave a cry of delight.

"Oh! This is positively magnificent! Look at all the horns…and chimes! My, my, you two, I have to say, I am very pleasantly surprised. You two make quite a team!" Brie clutched the seat of her chair and focused on keeping what was left of her lunch down.

She could feel Jojo's eyes on her, but she couldn't bring herself to return the gaze. She hadn't said one word to him the entire period, not even when he had muttered a quiet hello to her. He was probably feeling pretty rejected at the moment, but it was nothing to what was coming.

"Alright class!" Ms. Hapenshire called from the front of the room, "It's time to announce the winner of the singing competition!"

Instantly, the entire room grew still, all eyes turning to face her. Even Brie managed to sum up enough curiosity to look mildly interested.

"The winner, and singer for our class in the Whoville Symphony Orchestra's presentation of 'Harmony of Whoville' is…" she paused, glancing around at class excitedly. "Brie Etherson!"

Brie blanked in shock, automatically turning to look at Jojo. He smiled at her, and she almost returned it, but caught herself just in time and instead turned to look at Lindsay. She could practically feel the rejection radiating off of him.

"Brie! Wow! What a totally amazing surprise!" Lindsay smiled at her, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Congratulations."

"Thanks…"

"Alright, alright, calm down everyone." Ms. Hapenshire called over the sudden burst of muttering that filled the room. "Brie, that means you and your partner's instrument will have to be run by only one person, since you will be at the front singing."

Brie managed to give her a half-hearted smile, only to have it fall as the bell rang and everyone rose to leave. She remained in her seat.

"See ya, Brie!"

"Congrats on the win!"

"You're going to do so fantastic! I cant wait to see it!"

She received several pats on the back as the room cleared, the final one coming from Lindsay, who added in an undertone that only they could hear, "…and good luck, you know, with _that."_ She threw a glance at Jojo, who had his back to them and was shoving various things in his bag. With a smile, she turned and ambled from the room, leaving Brie and Jojo alone.

This was it. She rose shakily to her feet and moved to stand behind him, taking a deep breath and composing her face into what she hoped was a mask of indifference before catching his attention.

"Jojo? I need to talk to you."

His face when he turned to look at her almost broke her resolve-- it was a mixture of relief (probably because she had broken her stony silence) and dread, as if he already knew what was coming. She looked away for a moment to collect herself before continuing.

"I've really been thinking lately, and…well…things, with us…their just not working out."

His expression froze, but she forced herself to look him in the eye as she said the rest. He had to believe she wasn't lying.

"I mean, its been fun and everything, but come one, you have to admit that there's no way it could last. I mean, look who my friends are, and well, look at your situation..." She wished he would yell, scream, push her, anything at all besides look at her with those frozen, wide eyes. But his expression didn't change.

"But that's not the only issue, I wish it was, but…well, its only fair that you know the truth. It's you. Your just too different. I mean, really, how do you expect to get any friends when your like that?" Her voice was monotone, scripted, she said the words without showing any emotion. She had practiced them enough in her head that she didn't have to think about them…she was detached.

"Jojo, the fact of the matter is, your just…" she paused, too disgusted with herself to continue. She forced the word out of her mouth, hating her self even more with every syllable. "…disappointing."

And then, his expression did change. His shocked, frozen face melted, changing instead to one of complete hurt, and worst of all, she could see the guilt in his eyes--he was blaming himself. Brie looked away, she had to get out. Now.

"Well, hope there's no hard feelings…See ya around." She strode from the room, managing to control herself enough not to run until she was out of the main doors.

But she couldn't stop her tears.

**sniffle**

**ok, so did that clear things up, or just make them more confusing?**

**Who still hates me? lol**


End file.
